Institutions Some clusters of folk ways and mores are more important than others for example, those concerned with forming families and raising children are more important than those concerned with playing football. Organized clusters of folkways and mores dealing with highly important activities are embodied in the social institutions of the society. Institutions include behavior norms, values and ideals, and systems of social relationships. For a formal definition we suggest: An institution is an organized system of social relationships which embodies certain com mil values and procedures and meets certain basic needs of the society. In most complex societies there are five "basic" institutions family life, religion, government, education, and organization of economic activities. In modern societies, science is institutionalized. Beyond these, the concept tapers off into less significant clusters of behavior patterns like those surrounding . baseball, hunting, or beekeeping, which are sometimes loosely called institutions but probably should Rote included because they are so much less important. institutions are among the most formal and compelling of the norms of a society. When the folkways and mores surrounding an important activity become organized into a quite formal, binding system of belief and behavior, an institution has developed. For example, "ranking, corporate enterprise, investment markets, checking accounts, and collective bargaining are· economic institutions which began with simple barter thousands of year ago and passed through many stages of development. An institution thus includes (1) set of behavior patterns which have become highly standardized; (2) a set of supporting mores, attitudes, and values; and (3) a bod of traditions, rituals and ceremonies, symbols and, vestments, and other paraphernalia. Social institutions will be treated in detail i later chapters but are introduced here because the concept must be used' throughout. o discussion.
