Success in Sociology STPGT(SELECTION TEST FOR POST GRADUATE TEACHER)

Indian Social Institutions — Family, Marriage & Kinship

Short notes and exam-oriented MCQs with answers. Use this ready-to-publish HTML for study material, blog posts, or classroom handouts.

1. Family — Structure, Functions, Changes (Short Note)

Structure: Family is a basic social unit. Common structural types in India include nuclear (parents + children) and joint/extended families (multiple generations or siblings with their families living together). Other forms: single-parent families, extended kin households, and stem families.

Functions: (a) Socialization of children; (b) Economic cooperation and division of labour; (c) Emotional support; (d) Regulation of sexual behaviour and reproduction; (e) Social status and identity transmission.

Changes: Urbanization, industrialization, increased mobility, education and women’s labour force participation have contributed to a rise in nuclear families, smaller household sizes, delayed marriages and changing gender roles.

Family — 5 MCQs (with answers)

MCQ 1: Which of the following best describes a nuclear family?

1. A. Parents, children and grandparents living together
2. B. Two parents and their children living independently
3. C. A community of related families in a village
4. D. Siblings and their families sharing a household

Answer & Explanation

Answer: B. Two parents and their children living independently. A nuclear family typically comprises parents and their dependent children living separately from other relatives.

MCQ 2: Which function is NOT usually associated with the family?

1. A. Socialization of children
2. B. Production of laws for the nation
3. C. Emotional support
4. D. Economic cooperation

Answer & Explanation

Answer: B. Production of laws for the nation. Law-making is a function of political institutions; families perform social, economic and emotional roles.

MCQ 3: Which social change is most linked with the rise of nuclear families in India?

1. A. Increased joint ownership of land
2. B. Rapid urbanization and industrial employment
3. C. Revival of caste councils
4. D. Expansion of extended kin networks

Answer & Explanation

Answer: B. Rapid urbanization and industrial employment. These changes encourage mobility and privacy, making nuclear households more common.

MCQ 4: A family that includes parents, their married sons, and grandchildren living under one roof is called:

1. A. Nuclear family
2. B. Stem family
3. C. Joint/Extended family
4. D. Single-parent family

Answer & Explanation

Answer: C. Joint/Extended family. Joint or extended families often include multiple generations and married siblings living together.

MCQ 5: Which factor does NOT typically contribute to family change?

1. A. Education and changing gender roles
2. B. Industrialization
3. C. Geographic mobility
4. D. The biological process of digestion

Answer & Explanation

Answer: D. The biological process of digestion. This is unrelated to the social processes that change family structure.

2. Marriage — Forms, Functions, Changes (Short Note)

Forms: Endogamy (marrying within a group) and exogamy (marrying outside a group); monogamy (one spouse), polygyny (one man, multiple wives), polyandry (one woman, multiple husbands). Cross-cousin and arranged marriages are notable practices in India.

Functions: (a) Regulates sexual relations and reproduction; (b) Establishes kinship ties and alliances; (c) Confers social and economic rights and duties; (d) Transfers status and inheritance.

Changes: Greater emphasis on love marriages, increasing inter-caste and inter-religious marriages in some urban areas, rise in delayed marriage, and legal changes (e.g., laws on divorce, women’s rights) reshaping marital roles.

Marriage — 5 MCQs (with answers)

MCQ 6: What is endogamy?

1. A. Marrying outside one’s social group
2. B. Marrying within one’s social group
3. C. A form of polygamy
4. D. A type of monogamy

Answer & Explanation

Answer: B. Marrying within one’s social group. Endogamy restricts marriage to members of a particular caste, class, or community.

MCQ 7: Which form of marriage involves one woman having multiple husbands?

1. A. Polygyny
2. B. Polyandry
3. C. Monogamy
4. D. Serial monogamy

Answer & Explanation

Answer: B. Polyandry. Polyandry is rare globally but documented in a few Himalayan communities.

MCQ 8: Which social function is performed by marriage?

1. A. Regulates economic production systems
2. B. Regulates sexual behavior and reproduction
3. C. Produces census data
4. D. Writes constitutions

Answer & Explanation

Answer: B. Regulates sexual behavior and reproduction. Marriage formalizes sexual relations and organizes legitimate offspring.

MCQ 9: Which change has been observed in marriage patterns in modern India?

1. A. Decrease in inter-caste marriages across all regions
2. B. Increase in delayed marriages and women’s educational influence on mate choice
3. C. Mandatory polyandry
4. D. Elimination of dowry practices everywhere

Answer & Explanation

Answer: B. Increase in delayed marriages and women’s educational influence on mate choice. Education and employment have shifted timing and decision-making in marriages.

MCQ 10: Which of the following is TRUE about arranged marriages in India?

1. A. They are always forced marriages
2. B. They never involve consent from the bride or groom
3. C. Many arranged marriages today include the informed consent of both partners
4. D. Arranged marriages are illegal

Answer & Explanation

Answer: C. Many arranged marriages today include the informed consent of both partners. Modern arranged marriages often combine parental involvement with individual choice.

3. Kinship — Concept, Types, Rules of Descent, Usages (Short Note)

Concept: Kinship refers to social relationships based on blood (consanguinity), marriage (affinity) or adoption. It organises social roles, inheritance, residence and obligations.

Types: Primary distinction: consanguineal (blood relatives) vs affinal (relatives by marriage). Kinship systems can be classified by descent: unilineal (patrilineal or matrilineal), bilateral (both sides), and cognatic/complex systems.

Rules of Descent: Patrilineal descent traces kin through male line (common in many Indian communities); matrilineal traces through female line (found in some northeastern and tribal groups); bilateral reckons relatives on both parental sides.

Usages: Kinship regulates inheritance, residence (patrilocal, matrilocal, neolocal), marriage restrictions (exogamy/endogamy), and support networks.

Kinship — 5 MCQs (with answers)

MCQ 11: What does 'affinal kin' mean?

1. A. Blood relatives
2. B. Relatives by marriage
3. C. Distant strangers
4. D. Neighbours

Answer & Explanation

Answer: B. Relatives by marriage. Affinal kin are connected through marital ties, e.g., in-laws.

MCQ 12: Patrilineal descent means tracing kinship through which line?

1. A. Female line
2. B. Male line
3. C. Both parents equally
4. D. Neighbourhood groups

Answer & Explanation

Answer: B. Male line. Patrilineal descent follows ancestry through males.

MCQ 13: A system where inheritance and descent are traced through the mother's line is called:

1. A. Patrilineal
2. B. Matrilineal
3. C. Bilateral
4. D. Cognatic

Answer & Explanation

Answer: B. Matrilineal. Matrilineal systems trace descent through female ancestors.

MCQ 14: Which residence pattern refers to the newly married couple living near or with the husband's family?

1. A. Matrilocal
2. B. Neolocal
3. C. Patrilocal
4. D. Avunculocal

Answer & Explanation

Answer: C. Patrilocal. Patrilocal residence means living with or near the husband's relatives.

MCQ 15: Bilateral kinship refers to:

1. A. Tracing descent only through the father
2. B. Tracing descent only through the mother
3. C. Recognition of relatives from both the mother's and father's sides
4. D. Ignoring kin altogether

Answer & Explanation

Answer: C. Recognition of relatives from both the mother's and father's sides. Bilateral kinship values both lineages.