In the natural sciences, social structures is the structured social structures in society which are causative of people’s actions and the patterns of their socialization. Similarly, society is believed to consist of various structurally independent sets or categories of human roles, responsibilities, or functions, each with different purposes, meanings, or functions. The sociocultural theories believe that there is a social construction of reality, and each social structure manifests as a way of organizing the human within the society.
A number of different social structures have emerged through history. One of them is Colonialism. This theory suggests that there are certain social relationships established through colonization, which were able to survive because the colonizers brought with them the practices of the indigenous peoples. In this way, the social relationships among the indigenous peoples were changed, thus, resulting in new social structures. This then introduced a shift in the level of consciousness among the indigenous peoples who were undergoing colonization. Colonialists changed the values and norms of their societies, in order to adjust themselves with the new realities of colonial societies.
Colonialists brought changes in social structures through stratification. They changed the existing values and norms in order to accommodate the changed reality of colonial society. Some changes were quite radical, while others were subtle. The most significant change that occurred during the nineteenth century was the introduction of a system of stratification based on gender.
Gender stratification is a system of Classification according to gender of humans. The system enables grouping humans according to biological, socio-economic, psychological, and communal norms. This is one of the most important components of the vertebrate social structures theory. The classification according to gender is thus very important for understanding the development of the social structures.
The study of social structures was thus transformed by changes in the values, norms, and structure of the contemporary society. Societies are grouped based on the relationships they have with the nature, environment, and other external forces. These relations are identified as e.g. human relationships. The study of social structures has thus evolved into a field of specialization, where e.g. anthropology, law, sociology, management studies, and psychology are major fields of research.
The theories of social structures are also related to the concepts of social institutions. The concept of social institutions has been around for ages now. Social institutions include all the means by which individuals or groups relate to each other and interact with the external world. The social institutions also determine the types of relations that individuals have with the external world, in the context of a particular society. These institutions include the family, the community, the workplace, the neighborhood, and the nation.
As social structures have a significant impact on the life choices of people, institutions also play a vital role in shaping the type of person one becomes. The major concept of social structures is also related to the theory of evolution, which indicates that humans change over time in response to the environment they are in. Some of the major forces that drive people towards any of these social structures are related to their genes, norms, and cognitive faculties.
Economic structures also have a significant role to play in shaping a person’s life. A strong economy helps in maintaining social structures that maintain stability in society. Economic structures can be understood in terms of the level of technological innovation, distribution of land, and ownership of resources. The extent to which an economic structure supports the rule of law, and checks the empowerment of a group or section of individuals, is also related to its level of efficiency. For example, an efficient economy ensures that all groups economically benefit from shared property, and all individuals have access to public goods and services.