How society is organized

• Three requirements for a group:

  • Must consist of two or more people
  • There must be interaction
  • The members of the group must be together physically
• A group is composed of two or more persons who have something in common, are interacting with one another, and are guided by a set of norms
• Other human cluster sociologists consider important:

  • Aggregate: unstructured group of people found in one place but do not interact with each other; important characteristic is common physical location
  • Social category: an agglomeration where members possess common identifying characteristics but do not interact socially
  • Collective: crowds, masses, public and social movements are temporary groups; these are clusters of people interacting with each other, but the interaction is temporary or short-lived
• Importance of Groups according to Salcedo (2002):

  1. The group is a transmitter of culture

  2. The group is a means of social control

  3. The group socializes the individual

  4. The group is the source of ideas

  5. The group trains the individual in communications
• Social Group definition: a collection of individuals who have relations with one another that make them interdependent to some significant degree
• Interdependence is a necessary condition within social groups because it enables members to pursue shared goals, promote common values, and principles
• Our social groups profoundly define our identity and roles in society
• Social Group: a collection of individuals who have relations with one another that make them interdependent to some significant degree
• Interdependence is a necessary condition within social groups as it enables members to pursue shared goals or promote common values and principles
• Our social groups profoundly define our identity and roles in society
• Self Categorization Theory is a relevant approach in understanding the characteristics of social groups
• Self Categorization Theory proposes that people's appreciation of their group membership is influenced by their perception towards people who are not members of their group
• Incorporation into a group helps people adapt to various social processes and attain their goals in life
• Incorporation into a group may also encourage individuals to commit wrongdoing or lead others to socially deviant practices
• Groups within society:

  • Primary groups: small, intimate, less specialized groups with face-to-face and emotion-based interactions over an extended period
  • Responsible for the development and advancement of cultures, economics, politics, and other aspects of human civilization
• Primary groups have interdependence among members characterized by deep and profound relationships
• Examples of primary groups: family, close friends, work-related peers, classmates, and church groups
• In primary groups, individuals establish and define their identity, values, ideals, and aspirations
• . Secondary Group

  are larger and less intimate, and more specialized groups where members engage in an impersonal and objective- oriented relationship for a limited time.

  mutual benefit, rather than emotional affinity, becomes the driving force that compel individuals to stay together in a secondary group.

  professional relationships between lawyers and clients, and a corporation that has hundreds of employees are examples of secondary group.
• In-groups are groups to which individuals belong and with which they feel a sense of identity
• Members of in-groups devise ways to distinguish themselves from nonmembers, such as through group titles, symbols, and rituals required for membership
• Members of in-groups display positive attitudes and behavior toward their fellow members, while they may exhibit negative attitudes and views toward members of their out-groups
• Similarities and shared experiences foster unity and cooperation among in-group members
• An in-group is a group that an individual identifies with positively and feels respect and loyalty towards
• Differences with nonmembers could transform into feelings of competition and even hostility within in-groups
• Out-group: a group to which one does not belong and to which he or she may feel a sense of competitiveness or hostility
• Out-group is a social group toward which a person feels a sense of competition or opposition, and that an individual identifies in a negative direction
• Examples of in-groups and out-groups: sports teams, unions, and sororities; people may belong to, or be an outsider to, any of these
• Reference groups:

  • A group to which an individual compares himself or herself
  • A social group that serves as a point of reference in making evaluations and decisions
  • These groups strongly influence an individual's behavior and social attitudes whether he or she is a member of these groups
  • Examples of reference groups: an individual's primary group (family, work colleagues, etc.) or his or her in-groups (church, fellow club members, neighbors in the community, etc.)
• Some examples of types of groups:

  1. Peer group

  2. Clique

  3. Club

  4. Cabal

  5. Household

  6. Community

  7. Gang

  8. Mob

  9. Posse

  10. Squad

  11. Dyad

  12. Triad

  13. Team
• Examples of types of groups:

  • Peer group: members of approximately the same age, social status, and interests, relatively equal in power when interacting
  • Clique: group with similar interests, often found in High School/College settings, may have a name and rules
  • Club: requires membership application, dedicated to specific activities like sporting clubs
  • Cabal: group united in a close design to promote private views or interests, often by intrigue, found in church, state, or other community contexts
• Household includes all individuals living in the same home, with various models like family, blended families, share housing, and group homes in Anglophone culture
• Community is a group of people with commonalities or overlapping commonalities, often in proximity with some continuity over time
• Mobs are groups of people that take the law into their own hands, gathering temporarily for a specific reason like kidnappings or human trafficking
• A gang is usually an urban group that gathers in a particular area, less formal than clubs, known to cause social unrest and have negative influences on members
• A posse, originating from English common law, is now mainly in America, serving as a law enforcement equivalent of summoning the militia for military purposes or referring to a street group
• A squad is a small group of around 3 to 15 people who work together as a team to achieve their goals
• A dyad is a social group with two members, where social interaction is typically more intense than in larger groups as each member has the other's full attention
• A social group with three members 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