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Disciplines and Ideas in

Social Sciences
Quarter 1 – Module 8:
Institutionalism

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 First Quarter
MODULE 8 – Week 8
Institutionalism
Content Standard : The learner demonstrates an understanding of the
key concepts and approaches in the Social Sciences
Performance Standard : The learner is able to interpret personal and social
experiences using relevant approaches in the Social
Sciences and evaluate the strength and weaknesses
of the approach
Learning Outcomes : Upon completion of the module, the learner is
expected to explain the contribution of
Institutionalism
Competencies : Examine the constitutive nature of informal and
formal institutions and their actors and how it
constrains social behavior
Topic : Institutionalism

What I Know

Multiple Choice. Write the letter of the correct answer in a separate piece of
paper.

1. Which of the following is true about Institutionalism Approach?

a. It is a type of lens for looking at the world.
b. It is one of the major paradigms of sociological thought.
c. It is focused on language and symbols in day-to-day life.
d. It deals with the deeper and more resilient aspect of social structure
2. What features of Institutionalism that the analysis of political institutions
was done within their historical development and socio-economic milieu?
a. Syllogism b. Holism c. Structuralism d. Functionalism
3. The feature of Institutionalism that undertook a comparative analysis of
different political systems.
a. Syllogism b. Holism c. Structuralism d. Functionalism
4. What feature of Institutionalism deals with the dominant role of law in
governance?
a. Legalism b. Structuralism c. Holism d. Functionalism
5. All fields are included in Informal Institutions, EXCEPT:
a. Corruption b. Political Ideology c. Culture d. Education

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 6. Traditional Institutionalism Approach focuses on __________________
a. The emphasis of the legal aspects of government structures.
b. The establishment of a non- authoritative guidelines for social behavior.
c. The eradication of any deals with the dominant role of law in governance.
d. Both A and B
7. The formal institutions capture rules and government structures, while the
informal institutions focus on ____________________________.
a. Ideology and Politics c. Culture and Education
b. Ideology and Culture d. Culture and Politics
8. Which sector is greatly affected by red tape?
a. Private b. Public c. NGO d. Charitable Intitution
9. What kind of Institutions are legally introduced and enforced by the state?
a. Formal Institutions c. Informal Institutions
b. New Institutions d. Old Institutions
10. The kind of Institutions that recognizes the importance of both formal and
informal institutions in shaping social behavior.
a. Old Institutions c. New Institutions
b. Macro Institutionalism d. Historical Institutionalism
11. Which of the following is an example of red tape?
a. The use of administrative procedures as a means of political control.
b. Following lines in paying for your groceries.
c. Wearing face mask, face shield and bringing of Quarantine Pass.
d. Collection of taxes according to the sales of businesses.
12. The following are examples of Informal Institutions, EXCEPT.
a. Traditions b. Moral Values c. Religious beliefs d. Devalues
13. Formal Institutions include the following, EXCEPT:
a. Businesses b. Religious Organization c. Schools d. Labor Unions
14.The transmission of Institutions is carried by ___________________.
a. Routine and Artifacts c. Symbolic systems
b. Artifacts and History d. All of these
15.What social structure has attained a high degree of resilience and
provide stability in social life?
a. Education b. Institutions c. Religion d. Politics

Time is up..! Let us see if your answers are correct as you explore
this module. And your journey starts now…..

What I Need To Know

This module shall discuss another dominant approaches and ideas that are
present in today’s society, and how this approaches and ideas play a role in the
character and everyday living of society.

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 At the end you are expected to:
▪ Identify the nature of Formal and Informal Institution
▪ Interpret personal and social experiences using the Institutionalism
approach

What’s In
As we end the First Quarter with this module, let us check if you have
mastered the basic concept and principles of the Dominant Approaches that you
have tackled in the previous weeks:

Identification: Identify the Dominant Approaches such as; Marxism, Rational

Choice Theory, Symbolic Interactionism, Structural Functionalism and
Psychoanalysis. Write your answer in a separate sheet of paper.

1. Emphasizes the interconnectedness of society by focusing on how each part

influences and is influenced by other parts.
2. Viewing society as composed of symbols that people use to establish
meaning, develop views about the world, and communicate with one
another.
3. The power relationships between capitalists and workers were inherently
exploitative and would inevitably create class conflict.
4. The belief that all people possess unconscious thoughts, feelings, desires
and memories.
5. It explains that social phenomena as an outcome of individual choices.

Good Job! So, let’s proceed…..

What’s New

Are you ready? This pandemic brought us all to what we call the
“New Normal”. Can you identify the new rules or policies that are being
practiced in your Barangay? How are they implemented? Do people in your
Barangay observed them? Write your answers in a separate piece of paper.

What Is It
The Social Sciences are not only composed of disciplines that showcase how
it views and studies every facet of society. The disciplines prove how Social Science
is applicable and practical, meaning that the Social Sciences are concepts that you
can use every day to understand reality much better.

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 Conceptual framework of Social Sciences Theories

Social
Sciences as a
study of
Society

Dominant
Approaches Emergence and Essence of the
Social Sciences
- Offer various ways of
looking at society

Ceitical Social Science Social Science Disciplines

Interpretive Social Science Positivist Social Science
q. Psychoanalysis Anthropology
1. Symbolic Interactionism 1. Structural-Functionalism
Marxism Economics
2. Hermeneutical 2. Rational Choice Theory
3, Feminism History
Phenomenology 3. INSTITUTIONALISM
4. Human-Environment System Demography
Geography
Sociology
Psychology
Linguistics
Political Science

Society is seen as running effortlessly like a fit life form, composed of

many parts concocted in larger systems.

That is why apart from the disciplines, the social sciences have what we call
the dominant approaches and ideas that are present within the different
disciplines. These are the roots of a discipline, or better yet, the very inspiration of
the different social sciences. Dominant Approaches offer us various ways of
looking at society and various ways of explaining the things that are happening in
it. A particular approach or ideology has the capacity to influence all the
disciplines, for the theory that each ideology provides encompasses all of the
disciplines and affects them in many ways.
In this module, we will be discussing about INSTITUTIONALISM. What is
Institutionalism and how it affects our decisions on a daily basis?
Let us find that out…..

Institutionalism

Institutionalism is a dominant approach in the social sciences under

positivism, together with Structural Functionalism and Rational Choice Theory
which we have discussed in the previous modules. Structural Functionalism,

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Rational Choice Theory and Institutionalism are considered as the oldest and most-
widely used approaches in the scientific study of the society. Its strength emanates
from its resilience on empirical evidence and its quest for objectivity.

Institutionalism is a scientific study of the society which views society as

made up of individuals who are influenced by institutions, which are also humanly
created constraints that shape or structures politics and economics. Institutions
are social structures that have attained a high degree of resilience. They are
composed of cultural-cognitive, normative, and regulative elements that, together
with associated activities and resources, provide stability and meaning to social life.
Institutions are transmitted by various types of carriers, including symbolic
systems, relational systems, routines, and artifacts. Institutions operate at different
levels of jurisdiction, from the world system to localized interpersonal relationships.
Institutions connote stability but are subject to change processes, both incremental
and discontinuous.

What is Institution?

• Is the bearer of a set of practices, a structural arrangement and a

configuration of rules, which determines what is exemplary behavior
• Institutions are devised by individuals but in turn constrain their actions
• Part of the broad social fabric but also the conduit through which day-to-day
decisions are actions are taken

Kinds of Institution

✓ Formal Institutions are normally established and constituted by binding

laws, regulations and legal orders which prescribe what may or may not be.
It is legally introduced and enforced by the state e.g. money, passport & visa,
traffic rules, curfew hours, smoking, labor unions, K-12 on Basic Education
etc
✓ Informal Institutions are constituted by conventions, norms, values and
accepted ways of doing things, whether economic, political or social. These
are embedded in traditional social practices and culture which can be
equally binding e.g. dowry, tithes, arranged marriage, tipping food servers
and among others.

Characteristics of Institutions

• Structure. The most significant element of an institution. Structure may be

either formal (legislature, bureaucracy, political parties, mass-media) or
informal (a network of interacting organizations or a set of shared norms)
• Stability. The existence of some sort of stability over time. E.g. Some
legislator may decide to meet in a committee meeting once in a room in the
parliament house. That could be very pleasant but it would not be an

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 institution. If they agree to meet routinely after a specific period of time at
the same place, that would begin to take on the shape of an institution.
• Regulator of Individual Behavior. Institutions must in some way
(formal/informal) constrain the behavior of its members. If we resume with
the trivial instance of the committee meeting above, it may not be considered
as an institution if the members do not attach importance and obligation to
attend the meeting.
• Shared Values. There should be some sense of shared values and meaning
among the members of the institution.

What’s More

Concept Mapping: From your own understanding complete the concept

map below on Formal and Informal Institutions. Consider the Philippine setting in
giving your answers. You are free to make your own concept map and be creative
in doing this activity and use a separate piece of paper.

FORMAL INFORMAL
INSTITUTION INSTITUTION

What I Have Learned

In this module, we learned that society is made up of individuals who are

influenced by institutions, in which it humanly devised constraints that affect
human behavior. It considers the processes by which structures, including
schemes, rules, norms, and routines, become established as authoritative
guidelines for social behavior. Moreover, we discover that there are two kinds of
Institutions: Formal Institutions legally introduced and enforced by the state while
Informal Institutions rules outside the official channels.

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 What I Can Do

Instruction: Choose one scenario from the list below and share your
knowledge, personal experience, and social interaction using the Institutionalism
Approach. Write your reflection on a short bond paper.

a. being a member of a particular religious organization in your baranggay

b. deciding what learning modality to take for this school year
c. change of lifestyle brought about by the “New Normal” practices

Assessment

Multiple Choice: Write the letter of your correct answer in the answer sheet.

1. Which of the following is an example of red tape?

e. The use of administrative procedures as a means of political control.
f. Following lines in paying for your groceries.
g. Wearing face mask, face shield and bringing of Quarantine Pass.
h. Collection of taxes according to the sales of businesses.
2. The following are examples of Informal Institutions, EXCEPT.
b. Traditions b. Moral Values c. Religious beliefs d. Beliefs

3. Formal Institutions include the following, EXCEPT:

b. Businesses b. Religious Organization c. Schools d.Labor Unions
4. Which of the following is true about Institutionalism Approach?
e. It is a type of lens for looking at the world.
f. It is one of the major paradigms of sociological thought.
g. It is focused on language and symbols in day-to-day life.
h. It deals with the deeper and more resilient aspect of social structure
5. What features of Institutionalism that the analysis of political institutions
was done within their historical development and socio-economic milieu?
b. Syllogism b. Holism c. Structuralism d. Functionalism
6. The feature of Institutionalism that undertook a comparative analysis of
different political systems.
b. Syllogism b. Holism c. Structuralism d. Functionalism
7. The transmission of Institutions is carried by ___________________.
c. Routine and Artifacts c. Symbolic systems
d. Artifacts and History d. All of these
8. What social structure has attained a high degree of resilience and
provide stability in social life?
b. Education b. Institutions c. Religion d. Politics
9. What feature of Institutionalism deals with the dominant role of law in
governance?

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 b. Legalism b. Structuralism c. Holism d. Functionalism
10. All fields are included in Informal Institutions, EXCEPT:
b. Corruption b. Political Ideology c. Culture d. Education
11. Which sector is greatly affected by red tape?
b. Private b. Public c. NGO d. Charitable Intitution
12. What kind of Institutions are legally introduced and enforced by the state?
c. Formal Institutions c. Informal Institutions
d. New Institutions d. Old Institutions
13. The kind of Institutions that recognizes the importance of both formal and
informal institutions in shaping social behavior.
c. Old Institutions c. New Institutions
14. Traditional Institutionalism Approach focuses on __________________
e. The emphasis of the legal aspects of government structures.
f. The establishment of a non- authoritative guidelines for social behavior.
g. The eradication of any deals with the dominant role of law in governance.
h. Both A and B
15. The formal institutions capture rules and government structures, while the
informal institutions focus on ____________________________.
c. Ideology and Politics c. Culture and Education
d. Ideology and Culture d. Culture and Politics

References

Jose, M. D. and Ong, J. (2017) Disciplines and Ideas in the Social Sciences, Vibal
Group, Inc.,

DELA CRUZ, ARLEIGH ROSS D., FADRIGON, CECILE C., and MENDOZA, DIANA J.
“Discipline and Ideas in the Social Sciences.” Quezon City. Phoenix Publishing
House, Inc.2016.

Disciplines and Ideas in the Social Sciences by Arleigh Ross D. dela Cruz, et.al.
page 63, Accessed 7 2, 2020. http://psycnet.apa.org/journals/amp/48/2/90/.

Accessed 8 24,2020.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Institution