The Human Group

8/13/2019 The Human Group

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THE HUMAN GROUP


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Sociability is part of the human condition

Man is...born into a groupgrows up in a groupsocializes with a grouplearns many things in a group.And will die in a group. For the last timehis own group will follow him to pay their lasthomage to him.


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What is a group:

Composed of two or more persons

interacting with each other, guided by set of

norms.

consistent, coordinated action toward the

achievement of some common objectives iswhats important


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What is a Group?

Specified number of individuals where each

recognizes members from non-members

It refers to two or more people comingtogether.


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Some meanings implied in the termgroup:

Social category ( emphasis on sharing of

traits )

A group life emphasizing commonpresence and minimum awareness of other

Social group which essence lie in common

association, awareness of others , sociallyshared goals


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Social group is not synonymous to :

A category

A crowd / an aggregate ( people whohappen to be in a same place, for a ride,

show , movie etc. and share little else.)


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Primary vs. Secondary Group

A small social group

whose members share

personal and enduring

relationships Personal and tightly

integrated

Among the first groups we

experience in life

Shows personal

orientation

A large and impersonal

social group whose

members pursue a

specific goal or activity A secondary relationship

involving weak emotional

ties and little personal

knowledge of one another

Shows goal orientation


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Characteristics of GroupsGenerally groups share the following characteristics:

Permanence beyond meetings and members

that is , even when members are dispersed.

Means of identifying members,

Mechanisms for recruiting members,

Goals or purposes,

Social statuses and roles, i.e. norms of behavior,

Means of controlling members behavior.


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Common Bases of Groups:

Common ancestrythe strongest tie that bind

human beings ( Fichter).

Territory shared in commonphysical territory,

sociological neighborhood.

Similar bodily characteristicsathletic groups,

gender groups

Common interests.scientific, business,professional associations.


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Basic Classifications of Social Groups: this depends onthe purpose of classification.

Primary vs. Secondary Groups

In-groups vs. out-groups

Informal vs. formal groups Gemenschaft vs. gesselschaft


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Primary vs. Secondary

A social group

characterized by intimate

face-to-face relationship

and close associationand cooperation

we

Relationships are

spontaneous, personaland intimate.

Groups in which

relationships are

impersonal and widely

separate. Less intimacy among the

members, with specific

goals, formally organized

and impersonal they


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Physical Conditions

Small number

Long duration

Big number

Short duration


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Social Characteristics

Intrinsic valuation of relation

Intrinsic valuation of other

person

Inclusive knowledge of other

person

Feeling of freedom and

spontaneity

Operation of informal controls

Extrinsic valuation of relation

Extrinsic valuation of other

persons

Specialized and limited

knowledge of other persons

Feeling of external constraints

Operation of formal controls


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Sample Relationships

Friend- friend

Husband-wife

Parentchild

Teacher-pupil

Clerk-costumer

Announcer-listener

Performer-spectator

Officer-subordinate


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Sample Groups

Play group

Family

Village or Neighborhood

Work-team

Nation

Church hierarchy

Professional association

Corporation


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In-group vs. Out-group

A social group

commanding

members esteem and

loyalty

we

A social group toward

which one feels

competition or

opposition

they


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Formal vs. Informal

Goals objectives areexplicitly labeled

Roles and statuses

are specifically defined Norms and behaviour

are formalized intopolicies

Often governed byconstitution and by-laws

Arises spontaneouslyout of the interactiontwo of or more

persons Unplanned, no specific

goals, no rules formembership

Posses characteristicsof a primary group


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Gemeinschaft vs. Gesselschaft

Relationships are close,durable and highlyvalued by members.

Most impt.. Unit ofsociety is family.

Social control inmaintained by customsand traditions.

Ndividuals are agents ofconformity

Relationships are impersonaland segmented

Social networks other than thefamily are pivotal points where

individuals organize majorparts of their lives.

Social ties becomesassociational with division oflabor

Locus of social control is law.

This is usually found insocieties undergoingurbanization andindustrialization.


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The Groups Influence on the Individual

Individuals in the presence of others become arousedor motivated to perform some kinds of physical and

social skills at higher levels of excellence than they

would if they are alone.

Example: athletesteam workcommon goals-cheerers.

Students taking exams with a group than being alone/

This situation in which an individual is stimulated by the

presence of others is called social facilitation.


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The Groups Influence on the Individual

However, presence of others may inhibit the learning ofnew subject matter; individuals can assimilate

information more rapidly by themselves.

This situation is called social inhibition in which the

presence of others blocks or retards onesperformance.

Group pressure exerts powerful influence on members

opinions.

Group disucssions also plays an iportan trole inshapings ones attitude and behavior. A process of

Attitudinal change best made in group context than

individuallly.


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Why do some people conform? What are their reasons forviolating the norms?

Norms develop and conformity occurs because individuals seekothers with similar characteristics.

Based on Aristotles notion of distributive justice, it can be said

that rewards in society are passed out according to what one

does. Presumably, if an action is not likely to achieve a profit, thataction will not occur.

Conformity is seen as rewarding because it confers social

acceptance, whereas deviancy is viewed as costly because it

brings social discomfort and may result to various forms ofpunishments.


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Linkages in Group : Social Linkages may explain why peopleconnect with certain types of groups.

Diagramming social relationships.

Sociometryhelps us understand how people interelate in social

relaitonship in which everybody knows everybody else.. School

teachers may arrange seating plans to indentify friendships and

break unwanted conversations.

Social networksa persons social networks consist of all those

people whm she/he is directly or indirectly linked. ( Example

facebook list of friends)


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Importance of ones knowing social networks?

It helps people who are interested in the adoption of innovation orthe tranmission of information to people.

Network analysis may be used to understand which people hae

power in a community as well as how corporaitons are interlocked

through members of their board of trustees.

Social networks can provide data about social structure. They provide data on peoples interrelationships. Social netwroks

provide emotional and social support to people in a complex

society.

Sociologist and anthropologist may utilize knowledge of social

netwroks in order to categorize the societies in which they arefound.


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Dimensions of Groups

Size Structure

Nature of goals

Identifiabiluty of members

Cohesiveness

Leadership styles.


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Sizemay range from 2 to the entire population. Small group maybe dyad ( 2) , triad (3) , or a collectivity of 20 to

30 individuals.

Intermediate and large scale relationships include various social

units such as organizaiton, communities and societies.

Size of a group may affect quality of interaction in any group. Dyads are particularly fragile. The removal of either party

destroys the relationship.

Addition of a thrid party in a triad reduces the fragility of the

relationship but may set the formation of a coalition ( 2 teaming

against 2).


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Structurerefers to the patterning of actual behavior. Degrees of structure may vary from high to low ( military), formal

or informal ( bureaucracy)

Nature of goals- group may vary in terms of specific goals and

objectives.

Identifiability of members Cohesiveness - degree to which members of group cooperate.

Leadership styles ( socioligist found that leaders and followers had

simlar personality types ( autocratic, democratic and laissez faire)

generaly get along well than those whose leaders and followers

differ in personalty types.

Democratic and autocratic groups gets the job done.

Documents

The Human Group