COR 013

• Social group


  Two or more people who interact with one another and who recognize themselves as a distinct social unit
• The understanding of social groups is of primary importance to the understanding of human behavior
• Groups within society


  • Primary group
  • Secondary group
• Primary group


  A small social group whose members share personal and lasting relationships
• Primary group


  • Members share personal and intimate relationships
  • Face to face communication
  • Strong sense of loyalty
  • Permanence
  • Small in size
  • Informality and traditional and non-rational decision-making
• Examples of primary groups

  • Family
  • Friends
  • Love relationships
• Secondary group


  Large cluster of people who have a mutually shared purpose, often aiming to complete tasks
• Secondary group


  • Communication is indirect
  • Duration is temporary
  • Group cohesiveness is weak and are based on self-interest
  • Decision is based on rationality and rules
  • Structure is formal
  • Group boundaries
• Examples of secondary groups

  • School/class
  • Workplace or place of employment
• In-group


  Groups to which a person belongs, where they feel comfortable and share common experiences
• Out-group


  Groups to which a person does not belong, due to differences they do not identify with
• Reference group


  A group to which we compare ourselves and use as a standard to measure our behaviors and attitudes
• Types of reference groups

  • Informal reference groups
  • Formal reference groups
  • Membership reference groups
  • Disclaimant reference groups
  • Aspirational reference groups
  • Dissociative reference groups
• Social network


  An individual's scope or total set of relationships with others, indicating how they are connected through various social familiarities
• Levels of analysis in social network theory

  • Micro level
  • Meso level
  • Macro level
• Types of family by size/structure

  • Nuclear family
  • Extended family
  • Reconstituted family
  • Single parent family
  • Childless or conjugal family
  • Polygamous family
• Classification of family by bloodline

  • Patrilineal
  • Matrilineal
  • Bilineal
• Types of family by residence

  • Patrilocal residence
  • Matrilocal residence
  • Family or bilocal residence
  • Neolocal residence
• Types of family by authority


  • Patriarchal
  • Matriarchal
  • Egalitarian
• Political organization


  Any entity involved in the political process, including political parties, institutions, and groups, aimed at achieving political goals and benefiting their members
• Types of sociopolitical organizations

  • Bands
  • Tribes
  • Chiefdoms
  • States/Nations
• Neolocal residence


  The newly married couple resides in a new place or establishes their home independent of both sets of relatives
• Types of Family base of Authority

  • Patriarchal
  • Matriarchal
  • Egalitarian
• Patriarchal


  Authority is solely exercised by the father
• Matriarchal


  The members live together under the authority of the mother
• Egalitarian


  Spouses jointly share in decision making, control of family resources and child rearing
• Political organization


  Any entity that is involved in the political process, including political parties, political institutions, and political groups
• Political organizations are engaged in political activities aimed at achieving clearly defined political goals, which improve the political system that benefits the interests of their members
• Four types of sociopolitical organizations (according to Elman Service)

  • Bands
  • Tribes
  • Chiefdoms
  • States/Nations
• Bands


  • Least complex form of political organization, with no rigid form of governance or structured leadership
  • Typically consisting of 20-50 individuals who are usually related by kinship
  • Chiefly based on foraging (hunting and gathering)
  • Decision-making is often made by the entire group, with the eldest members acting as facilitators
  • Every member has equal access to basic needs
• Tribes


  • Political organization that consists of segmentary lineages
  • Marked by loyalty per family cluster or segment
  • Require a degree of settlement, with economic subsistence in horticulture (shifting agriculture) or pastoralism (tending animals)
  • Leaders are chosen based on special skills or aptitudes related to economic activity
  • Leaders have no concrete political power over members, except in areas of group concerns
• Chiefdoms


  • Political organization consists of a few local communities who subscribe to the power and rule of a leader with absolute power
  • Absolute power is derived from the perceived relation of the leader to supernatural forces and powers
  • Tied with horticulture and pastoralism
  • Practice redistribution through tribute collection
  • Existence of social stratification that segregates society into the elite and the commoner
• States and Nations


  • A group of people sharing similar culture and political history
  • A political organization united by a common set of laws
  • Uses complete political coerciveness, such as armed personnel, stricter laws, and rigid governmental policies
  • Primary form of economic subsistence is market exchange, with standardized currencies
• Authority


  The legitimate power which one person or a group holds over another
• Legitimacy


  The popular acceptance and recognition by the public of the authority of a present administration
• Three categories of legitimacy of authority (according to Max Weber)

  • Legal
  • Traditional
  • Charismatic
• Legal authority


  Achieved by a leader through the process of following established codes and procedures governing the allocation and distribution of power and resources within a society
• Traditional authority


  Form of leadership legitimacy that highlights the right of a leader to rule based on inheritance of the title
• Charismatic authority


  Creates a type of leadership that is based on the personal attachment of the subordinates to the ruler whose characteristics, experiences, or even skills are believed to be extraordinary, or maybe even supernatural
• Economics


  The science that deals with the factors that determine the production, distribution and consumption of goods and services