SOC SCI 2

• Society


  A diverse and coherent set of groups that are organized
• Group


  Two or more people who interact with each other because of shared common interests, goals, experiences, and needs
• Groups


  • Meet our social needs for belonging and acceptance, support us throughout our lives, and place restrictions on us
  • We also need groups for protection, to obtain food, to manufacture goods, and to get jobs done
  • Can be small, intimate environments or large meso-level organizations
• Social group


  A collection of individuals who have relations with one another that make them interdependent to some degree
• Interdependence


  A necessary condition that exists within social groups because it enables its members to pursue shared goals or promote common values and principles
• Aggregate


  A mere collection of people within a particular place and time, with no interdependence and possibly no interaction
• Primary group


  At the most micro level, characterized by cooperation among close, intimate, long-term relationships whose members engage in face-to-face and emotion-based interaction over an extended period of time
• Primary groups


  • Family members, best friends, classmates, close work associates
• Primary groups


  • Provide a sense of belonging and shared identity
  • The group is of intrinsic value - enjoyed for its own sake - rather than for some utilitarian value
• In primary groups


  • You share your values, say what you think, let down your hair, dress as you like, and share your concerns and emotions, your successes and failures
• Secondary group


  Formal, impersonal, and businesslike relationships, often temporary, and based on a specific limited purpose or goal
• Secondary groups


  • Larger, less intimate, and more specialized groups where members engage in an impersonal and objective-oriented relationship for a limited time
• 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 groups
• In-group


  A group to which one belongs and with which one feels a sense of identity
• In-groups


  • Sports team, college, race, family
• Out-group


  A group to which one does not belong and to which the person may feel a sense of competitiveness or hostility
• Reference group


  Composed of members who act as role models and establish standards against which members measure their conduct
• Reference groups


  • Successful businesses
• Network


  Refers to the structure of relationships between social actors or groups, including interconnections, ties, and linkages between people, their group, and the larger social institutions to which they all belong
• To become a member of a society is to belong to a social group, which can be primary, secondary, in-group, out-group, reference group, or even a network
• social group refers to the collection of individuals who have relations with one another that make them interdependent on some degree
• interdependence is the necessary condition that exists within social groups because it is what enables its members to pursue shared goals or promote common values and principles
• the mere collection of people within a particular place and time is called aggregate
• primary group is the source of close human feelings such as love, cooperation, and concern
• individuals look to reference groups to set guidelines for behavior and decision making
• network refers to the structure of relationships between social actors or groups
• Types of groups within a society:

  • social group
  • interdependence
  • aggregate
• Types of groups

  • Primary Group
  • Secondary Group
  • Self-Categorization Theory
  • In-Group
  • Out-Group
  • Reference Group
• Group refers to units involving two or more people who interact with each other because of shared common interests, goals, experiences, and needs
• We need groups for:

  • protection
  • to obtain food
  • to manufacture goods
  • to get jobs done
• Group can be small, intimate environments- micro-level interactions with family or friends or they can become quite large meso-level organizations
• aggregate have no interdependence and there might be no interaction with the people composing it
• as children grow, they move from the security and acceptance of primary groups -the home and neighborhood peer group- to a secondary group - the large school classroom
• in-group also serve as reference group