A pioneering figure in modern sociology, French social theorist Emile Durkheim examined the effect of societal cohesion on emotional well-being. Believing that scientific methods should be applied to the study of society, Durkheim studied the levels of integration in various social formations and the impact that such cohesion had on individuals within the group. He postulated that social groups with high levels of integration serve to buffer their members from frustrations and tragedies that could otherwise lead to desperation and self-destruction. Integration, in Durkheim's view, generally arises through shared activities and values. Durkheim distinguished between mechanical solidarity and organic solidarity in classifying integrated groups. Mechanical solidarity dominates in groups in which individual differences are minimized and group devotion to a common goal is high. Durkheim identified mechanical solidarity among groups with little division of labor and high degrees of cultural similarity, such as among more traditional and geographically isolated groups. Organic solidarity, in contrast, prevails in groups with high levels of individual differences, such as those with a highly specialized division of labor. In such groups, individual differences are a powerful source of connection rather than of division. Because people engage in highly differentiated ways of life. they are by necessity interdependent. In these societies, there is greater freedom from some external controls, but such freedom occurs in concert with the interdependence of individuals, not in conflict with it. Durkheim realized that societies may take many forms and, consequently, that group allegiance can manifest itself in a variety of ways. In both types of societies outlined previously, however, Durkheim stressed that adherence to a common set of assumptions about the world was a necessary prerequisite for maintaining group integrity and avoiding social decay.

1. Which of the following is NOT a feature of an organic societal formation, according to Emile Durkheim?

A Members are buffered from individual frustration that would lead the individual to cease being a productive member of society.
B Citizens operate independently in their daily lives, but toward a common overall goal.
C Each person must come to accept a series of assumptions that form a collective worldview shared by the formation.
D Workers have an even division of labor and share the work of common tasks.
E Individual differences are celebrated, and have a strengthening effect on the society.



2. Which of the following might be examples of a mechanical solidarity societal formation as explained by the passage?

a A religious order living in a monastery with an evenly distributed division of labor
b A company comprised of a group of architects, carpenters, plumbers, and construction workers who can design and complete all facets of a building project from start to finish
c A xenophobic tribe living in an isolated fishing village amid an uncolonized set of islands



3. Select the sentence in the passage that explains why a society displaying organic solidarity tends more toward social codependence than does a mechanical societal formation.