SOCIAL GROUPS AND ORGANIZATIONS

GROUP

consists of two or more people who are distinct in the following three ways:

• Interact over time.• Have a sense of identity or belonging.

• Have norms that non-members don’t have.

EXAMPLE:

A class of students is a group. Classes by definition consist of more than two people, meet

at least a few times a week for an entire semester, and identify themselves on the basis of what

classes they are taking. Students in a class must follow that professor’s class and test schedule, as

well as rules for behaviour and contribution in class.

a collection of people who happen to be at the same place at the same time but who have no

other connection to one another.

AGGREGATE

The people gathered in a restaurant on a particular evening are an example of an aggregate, not a group. Those people

probably do not know one another, and they’ll likely never again be in the same place at the same time.

Example:

CATEGORY

a collection of people who share a particular characteristic. They do not necessarily interact

with one another and have nothing else in common.

Example:

Categories of people might include people who have green eyes, people who were born in Nevada, and women who have

given birth to twins.

SOCIAL GROUPS

is a collection of individuals who interact with one another and have feelings of

unity or belonging.

SOCIAL GROUP

Group Classifications

Primary groups

is typically a small social group whose members share close, personal, enduring relationships. these groups are marked by concern for one another, shared activities and culture, and long periods of time spent together.

• Meet frequently on a face-to-face basis.• Have a sense of identity or belonging that lasts

a long time.• Share little task orientation.• Have emotional intimacy.

Members of a primary group meet the following criteria:

is a group in which one exchanges implicit items, such as love, caring, concern, support, etc.

Secondary groups

Secondary groups are large groups whose relationships are impersonal and goal oriented; their relationships are temporary

> Secondary relationships involve weak emotional ties and little personal knowledge of one another. In contrast to primary groups, secondary groups don't have the goal of maintaining and developing the relationships themselves.

> Secondary groups include groups in which one exchanges explicit commodities, such as labour for wages, services for payments, and such. They also include university classes, athletic teams, and groups of co-workers.

In-Groups and Out-Groups

social groups to which an individual feels he or she belongs, while an individual doesn't identify with the out-group.

In-group favoritism refers to a preference and affinity for one’s in-group over the out-group, or anyone viewed as outside the in-group.

One of the key determinants of group biases is the need to improve self-esteem. That is individuals will find a reason, no matter how insignificant, to prove to themselves why their group is superior.

Intergroup aggression is any behavior intended to harm another person, because he or she is a member of an out-group, the behavior being viewed by its targets as undesirable.

The out-group homogeneity effect is one's perception of out-group members as more similar to one another than are in-group members (e.g., "they are alike; we are diverse”).

Prejudice is a hostile or negative attitude toward people in a distinct group, based solely on their membership within that group.

A stereotype is a generalization about a group of people in which identical characteristics are assigned to virtually all members of the group, regardless of actual variation among the members

Reference Groups

Sociologists call any group that individuals use as a standard for evaluating themselves and their own behaviour a reference group.

Social comparison theory argues that individuals use comparisons with others to gain accurate self-evaluations and learn how to define the self. A reference group is a concept referring to a group to which an individual or another group is compared.

Reference groups provide the benchmarks and contrast needed for comparison and evaluation of group and personal characteristics.

Robert K. Merton hypothesized that individuals compare themselves with reference groups of people who occupy the social role to which the individual aspires.

Social Networks

A social network is a social structure between actors, connecting them through various social familiarities.

The study of social networks is called both "social network analysis" and "social network theory".

Social network theory views social relationships in terms of nodes and ties. Nodes are the individual actors within the networks, and ties are the relationships between the actors.

In sociology, social capital is the expected collective or economic benefits derived from the preferential treatment and cooperation between individuals and groups.

The rule of 150 states that the size of a genuine social network is limited to about 150 members.

The small world phenomenon is the hypothesis that the chain of social acquaintances required to connect one arbitrary person to another arbitrary person anywhere in the world is generally short.

Milgram also identified the concept of the familiar stranger, or an individual who is recognized from regular activities, but with whom one does not interact.

A New Group: Electronic Communities

On the Internet, social interactions can occur in online communities that preclude the need to be face-to-face.

An online community is a virtual community that exists online and whose members enable its existence through taking part in membership rituals.

An online community can take the form of an information system where anyone can post content, such as a bulletin board system or one where only a restricted number of people can initiate posts, such as Weblogs.

Cost plays a role in all aspects and stages for online communities. Fairly cheap and easily attainable technologies and programs have also influenced the increase in establishment of online communities.

SOCIAL INTERACTIONS

Cooperation

is the process of two or more people working or acting together. Cooperation enables social reality by laying the groundwork for social

institutions, organizations, and the entire social system. Without cooperation, no institution beyond the individual would develop; any group

behaviour is an example of cooperation. Cooperation derives from an overlap in desires and is more likely if there is a relationship between the

parties. This means that if two people know that they are going to encounter one another in the future or if they have memories of past

cooperation, they are more likely to cooperate in the present.

TYPES OF COOPERATION Voluntary Cooperation

It is cooperation to which all parties consent.

Coerced Cooperation It is when cooperation between individuals is forced.

Unintentional Cooperation It is a form of cooperation in which individuals do not necessarily intend

to cooperate, but end up doing so because of aligning interests.

Conflict

is the struggle for agency or power within a society. It occurs when two or more people oppose one another in social interactions, reciprocally exerting social power in an effort to attain scarce or incompatible goals, and prevent

the opponent from attaining them.

Conflict theory• emphasizes interests deployed in conflict,

rather than the norms and values. This perspective argues that the pursuit of interests is what motivates conflict. Resources are scarce and individuals naturally fight to gain control of them. Thus, the theory sees conflict as a normal

part of social life, rather than an abnormal occurrence.

1. Society is composed of different groups that compete for resources.

2. While societies may portray a sense of cooperation, a continual power struggle exists

between social groups as they pursue their own interests.

3. Social groups will use resources to their own advantage in the pursuit of their goals,

frequently leading powerful groups to take advantage of less powerful groups.

The three tenets of conflict theory are as follows:

Zero sum gamemeaning that if group A acquires any given resource, group B will be unable to acquire it. Thus, any gain for group A is automatically

a loss for group B.

Conflict theory further argues that group A will continue to search for resources

in order to keep group B from getting them, leading to the exploitation of the powerless.

Matthew EffectThe idea that those who have control will maintain control.

is a contest between people or groups of people for control over resources. In this definition, resources can have both literal and symbolic meaning. People can compete over tangible resources like land, food, and mates, but also over intangible resources, such

as social capital. Competition is the opposite of cooperation and arises whenever two parties strive

for a goal that cannot be shared.

Competition

competition may serve as a form of recreation or a challenge provided that it is non-hostile.

competition can cause injury and loss to the organisms involved, and drain valuable resources

and energy.

Competition Beneficial

Detrimental