Sociology - Groups

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SOCIOLOGY SOCIOLOGY AND YOUAND YOU

CHAPTER 6GROUPS AND FORMAL ORGANIZATIONS

Directions: Draw a social map of this class period.

Include yourself. Do not include your teacher. Include all classmates. Draw lines connecting you to those classmates

that are your friends. Draw lines connecting those classmates that

you think are friends. Use large lettering and clear lines.

Activity 1: Draw a Social Map Activity 1: Draw a Social Map

Groups are classified by how they develop and function. Primary groups meet emotional and support needs, while secondary groups are task focused.

Main IdeaMain Idea

SEC 1: PRIMARY & SECONDARY GROUPS

Primary group

Secondary group

Group: at least two people who have one or more goals in common and share common ways of thinking and behaving • In regular contact with one another• Take one another’s behavior into account• Tend to draw lines around themselves,

creating insiders and outsiders. These lines are known as boundaries.

SEC 1: PRIMARY & SECONDARY GROUPSSEC 1: PRIMARY & SECONDARY GROUPS

• Social Category: people who share a social characteristic• Examples: women, fathers, students, artists

• Social Aggregate: People temporarily in the same place at the same time• Examples: students in the lunch line, people at a

concert, contestants in a talent competition


Primary Group: People who are emotionally close, know one another well, and seek one another’s company• Characterized by primary relationships(interactions that are intimate, personal, and

fulfilling)• Conditions that favor development of primary

groups/relationships• Small size• Face-to-face contact• Continuous contact• Proper social environment


Primary Group (continued)• Functions of primary

group1. Emotional support2. Socialization 3. Encourages

conformity


Secondary Group: People who only share a part of their lives while focusing on a goal or task

Secondary relationships: impersonal interactions involving only limited parts of our personalities-Secondary groups are about accomplishing a task NOT about establishing friendship but they can include some primary relationships.


Directions: Draw a social map of your life. Include yourself. You may but are not required to include your teachers. Include at least 19 other people. Include at least one primary group. [label it!] Include at least one secondary group. [label it!] Draw lines connecting you to those people. Use large lettering and clear lines.

Activity 2: Draw another Social MapActivity 2: Draw another Social Map

Choose one primary and one secondary group from your Social Map.

For each group: Describe the group and the boundaries of the group as you see them. Are the boundaries tight or loose? Are other allowed in? If so, how does one become a part of the group?


Reference groups help us evaluate ourselves and form identities. In-groups and out-groups divide people into “we” and “they.” Social networks extend our contacts and let us form links to many other people.

Main IdeaSEC 2: OTHER GROUPS & NETWORKSSEC 2: OTHER GROUPS & NETWORKS

Reference Group: group used for self-evaluation and the formation of attitudes, values, beliefs and norms◦ Examples: families, teachers, classmates, political

groups, sports teams, bands◦ A person can consider a group to be a reference group

without being a member.◦ Reference groups are not necessarily positive (i.e.

gangs).

SEC 2: OTHER GROUPS & NETWORKSSEC 2: OTHER GROUPS & NETWORKS

In-group: exclusive group which demands intense loyalty Norms compel members to exclude others.

Out-group: a group targeted by an in-group for opposition, antagonism, or competition

People get divided into “we” and “they”


Group boundaries: allow the in-group to tell who is “in” and who is not “in” • In-groups and out-groups can

form in schools, athletics, neighborhoods, or even countries at war.

◦ This is often a symbol like clothes or slang or can be an action like a handshake. • New members may be taught

the boundaries in an initiation ceremony• Boundaries are maintained

by demanding intense loyalty from group members


In-Group/Out-Group Clarification In-group is NOT the same as “popular

group.” In group is the group that a person has an

affinity or closeness for (example: Mrs. Downs and The Ohio State Buckeyes)

Out-group is NOT the same as “unpopular group.”

Out-group is the group that a person has a disconnect with, often a negative bias (example: Mrs. Downs and Michigan Wolverines)

Social Networks: a web of social relationships that join a person to other people and groups • It includes groups, but is not a group in and of itself • Functions:• Provide a sense of purpose and belonging• Provide support in the form of advice or help• Useful for entering the job market


YOU

MOM

DAD

MOM’S FRIEND & FUTURE BOSS

DAD’S FRIEND & FUTURE IN-LAW

BABY BRO

DAD’S FRIEND

DAD’S FRIEND’S FRIEND & YOUR FRIEND’S DAD

FRIEND

FRIEND’S MOM BRO’S BABYSITTER & YOUR FRIEND’S FRIEND

Main IdeaFive types of social interaction are basic to group life:

1.Cooperation2. Conflict3. Social exchange4. Coercion5. Conformity.

SEC 3: (5) Types of Social InteractionSEC 3: (5) Types of Social Interaction

Cooperation • Interaction in which individuals or groups

combine their efforts to reach a goal• Most likely to occur when reaching the goals

requires the best use of limited resources (like in emergency situations)• The goal, may or may not, even benefit those

who are cooperating


Conflict • Interaction aimed at defeating an opponent• Usually considered disruptive, but it can also

be socially beneficial• It may promote cooperation and unity within

opposing groups• It may draw attention to social inequalities and

cause a change in values, beliefs and norms


Social Exchange • A voluntary

action is performed in the expectation of getting a reward in return• The exchange

relationship is based on reciprocity


Coercion• Interaction in which individuals or groups are forced to behave in a particular way• Central element of coercion is DOMINATION• Physical – imprisonment, torture• Social – ridicule, rejection, ostracize


Conformity• Behavior that matches group expectations• Most people do conform to group pressure

(Asch, 1955) {Asch Experiment Video} – (see: handout)• Groupthink: self-deceptive thinking that is

based on conformity to group beliefs and created by group pressure to conform• Milgrim Experiment (see: handout)• ABC Primetime – Basic Instincts –Milgrim Revisited

(see: handout)• Stanford Prison Experiment (see: handout)


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iRh5qy09nNw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iRh5qy09nNw

A formal organization is a group created to achieve one or more long-term goals

A bureaucracy is a formal organization based on rationality and efficiency. Characteristics include:• Division of labor based on specialization• Hierarchy of power• System of rules and procedures• Written records and activities• Promotions are based on merit and qualifications• Often seen as impersonal, but designed to protect

individuals from abuses

SEC 4: Formal OrganizationsSEC 4: Formal Organizations

Primary relationships do form within formal organizations

Informal organization: group within formal organization in which relationships are guided by norms, rituals or sentiments that are not part of the formal organization


Iron Law of Oligarchy (Robert Michels, 1911)

• Power increasingly becomes more concentrated in the hands of fewer individuals within the organization


Education

Sociology - Groups