Social groups can be defined as collections of individuals who interact regularly based on shared interests and develop a sense of belonging. There are several types of social groups including primary groups with close personal ties, secondary groups with weaker ties, and reference groups that individuals compare themselves to. Group size and dynamics also impact member interactions, with small groups like dyads and triads allowing more intense engagement than larger groups. Networks of relationships outside established groups are also important to consider. Leadership, power differentials, conformity pressures, and obedience are key concepts in understanding group processes and influences.
3. SOCIAL GROUPS
The term group has a specific definition in sociology that differs
from everyday usage
However, two or more people being in close physical proximity
does not constitute a group in the sociological meaning of the
word. Sociologically speaking,
a group is a collection of people who interact regularly
based on some shared interest and who develop some sense of
belonging that sets them apart from other gatherings of people.
5. Primary group
• According to Charles Horton Cooley (1864–1929), a
primary group is a small social group whose
members share personal and lasting relationships.
People joined in primary relationships spend a great
deal of time together, engage in a wide range of
activities, and feel that they know one another well.
• In short, they show real concern for one another. In
every society, the family is the most important
primary group.
• Groups based on lasting friendships are also
primary groups
6. Secondary groups
• in contrast to primary groups, are large groups
involving formal and institutional relationships.
Secondary relationships involve weak emotional ties
and little personal knowledge of one another.
Most secondary groups are short term, beginning and
ending without particular significance
7. reference group
• A reference group is a group to which an
individual or another group is compared.
8. Some examples of types of groups
include the following:
• Peer group
• A peer group is a group with members of
approximately the same age, social status, and
interests.
• Generally, people are relatively equal in terms
of power when they interact with peers.
• CliqueA group of people that have many of the
same interests & commonly found in a High
School/College setting; most of the time they
have a name & rules for themselves.
9. • Club
• A club is a group, which usually requires one to apply to become
a member. Such clubs may be dedicated to particular activities:
sporting clubs, for example.
• Cabal
• A cabal is a group of people united in some close design
together, usually to promote their private views or interests in a
church, state, or other community, often by intrigue.
• Household
• All individuals who live in the same home. Anglophone culture
may include various models of household, including
the family, blended families, share housing, and group homes.
10. • Community
A community is a group of people with a commonality or sometimes a complex
net of overlapping commonalities, often–but not always–in proximity with one
another with some degree of continuity over time.
Franchise
An organization which runs several instances of a business in many locations
.Gang
A gang is usually an urban group that gathers in a particular area. It is a group
of people that often hang around each other. They can be like some clubs, but
much less formal.
They are usually known in many countries to cause social unrest and also have
negative influence on the members and may be a target for the law enforcers in
case of any social vices
• Mob
A mob is usually a group of people that has taken the law into their own hands.
Mobs are usually groups which gather temporarily for a particular reason.
11. • Posse
A posse was originally found in English common law. It is
generally obsolete, and survives only in America, where it is the
law enforcement equivalent of summoning the militia for
military purposes. However, it can also refer to a street group.
• Squad
• This is usually a small group, of around 3 to 15 people, who
work as a team to accomplish their goals.
• Dyad(a group of two people)
This is a social group with two members.
Social interaction in a dyad is typically more intense than in
larger groups because neither member shares the other's
attention with anyone else.
12. • Triad
This is a social group with three members, which contains three relationships,
each uniting two of the three people.
A triad is more stable than a dyad because one member can act as a mediator
should the relationship between the other two become strained.
• Team
Similar to a squad, though a team may contain many more members. A team
works in a similar way to a squad.
• In-groupIt is a social group toward which a member feels respect and loyalty.
It is a group that an individual identifies in positive direction.
If a person is part of the in-group then they are collectively part of an inner
circle of friends. An inner circle may contain sub-groups within the inner circle
including the apex (best friends), core (very close friends), outer rim, etc. This
group provides a support structure and being exclusive offers protection from
anyone in an Out-group (see below.)
13. • Out-group
It is a social group toward which a person
feels a sense of competition or opposition.
– It is a group that an individual identifies in
negative direction.
19. Researchers have also pointed out that
sometimes categorizations are as basic
in our minds as those groups with which
we identify and feel a sense of belonging
and loyalty, in-groups, and those with
which we do not identify or toward
which we may even feel animosity, out-
groups.
23. Reference Groups
Sociologists are also interested in how we use groups to judge
ourselves and our attitudes, beliefs, behaviors, and actions (Hyman
1942; Hyman and Singer 1968; Singer 1981). The groups we use for
this purpose are reference groups. Reference groups are those with
which we compare ourselves. Any group can become a reference
group if we use them to judge something about ourselves.
Considering what best friends will think about your new boyfriend
or girlfriend or how to dress to fit in with your new colleagues on
your first day of work are both ways of using reference groups.
24. Group Size
Group size influences the interactions
that take place within the group.
This group of two is called a dyad.
A three-person group is a triad.
25. NETWORKS
Sociologists have also demonstrated
the importance of our relationships
that occur outside of defined groups
in networks, the patterned
relationships that connect us with
those outside of our established
groups.
26. GROUP DYNAMICS
An entire field of study known as group
dynamics has developed around the
scientific study of groups and group processes.
group dynamics includes studying the
influences groups have on our behavior
27. Group Formation
Many groups are formed
to accomplish some task.
This requires that the
members work together
somewhat as a team.
28. Leadership
Sociologists recognize the
important distinction in groups
that not all members have equal
influence. Some members emerge
as leaders, those who are able to
influence others toward some future
direction, event, goal, or purpose
30. Conformity
Sociologists and their colleagues in
fields such as social psychology have
demonstrated that groups can shape
members’ behavior in powerful ways.
Groups may require members to
conform, sharing certain norms,
values, behaviors, and sometimes even
opinions.