SocNet

• Social group


  Two or more people who regularly interact on the basis of mutual expectations and who share a common identity
• Social category

  A collection of individuals who have at least one attribute in common but otherwise do not necessarily interact
• Social aggregate

  A collection of people who are in the same place at the same time but who otherwise do not necessarily interact, except in the most superficial of ways, or have anything else in common
• Primary group


  Usually small, characterized by extensive interaction and strong emotional ties, and endures over time
• Secondary group

  Larger and more impersonal, exist often for a relatively short time to achieve a specific purpose
• Reference group

  Groups that set a standard for guiding our own behavior and attitudes
• In-group


  Groups that members feel loyal to and take pride in belonging to
• Out-group


  Groups that an in-group competes with for various kinds of rewards
• Social network

  The totality of relationships that link us to other people and groups and through them to still other people and groups
• Groups


  • They are a key building block of social life but can also have negative consequences
  • Primary groups are generally small and include intimate relationships, while secondary groups are larger and more impersonal
  • Reference groups provide a standard for guiding and evaluating our attitudes and behaviors
  • Social networks are increasingly important in modern life, and involvement in such networks may have favorable consequences for many aspects of one's life
• Characteristics of social groups

  • Collection of individuals
  • Interaction among members
  • Mutual awareness
  • 'We-feeling'
  • Group unity and solidarity
  • Common interest
  • Similar behavior
  • Group norms
  • Size of the group
  • Dynamic
  • Stability
  • Influence on personality
• Types of social groups


  • Primary groups
  • Secondary groups
• Primary groups


  Typically small social groups whose members share close, personal, enduring relationships
• Secondary groups


  Large groups whose relationships are impersonal and goal oriented; their relationships are temporary
• Group

  A number of things or persons being in some relation to one another
• Secondary groups

  Large groups whose relationships are impersonal and goal-oriented
• Functions of secondary groups

  • People's roles are more interchangeable
  • They are groups you have chosen to be a part of
  • They are based on interests and activities
  • They are where many people can meet close friends or people they would just call acquaintances
  • They are groups in which one exchanges explicit commodities, such as labor for wages, services for payments
• Examples of secondary groups


  • University class
  • Athletic team
  • Workers in an office
• Primary groups can form within secondary groups as relationships become more personal and closer
• In-group

  Social groups to which an individual feels he or she belongs
• Out-group


  Social groups an individual doesn't identify with
• In-group favoritism


  Preference and affinity for one's in-group over the out-group
• Intergroup aggression


  Behavior intended to harm another person because he or she is a member of an out-group, the behavior being viewed by its targets as undesirable
• Out-group homogeneity effect

  Perception of out-group members as more similar to one another than are in-group members
• Prejudice


  Hostile or negative attitude toward people in a distinct group, based solely on their membership within that group
• Stereotype

  Generalization about a group of people in which identical characteristics are assigned to virtually all members of the group, regardless of actual variation among the members
• Reference group

  Group that individuals use as a standard for evaluating themselves and their own behavior
• Social comparison theory


  • Individuals use comparisons with others to gain accurate self-evaluations and learn how to define the self
• Social role


  Set of connected behaviors, rights, and obligations as conceptualized by actors in a social situation
• Social network


  Social structure between actors, connecting them through various social familiarities
• Social network analysis and social network theory

  • Study of social networks
  • Views social relationships in terms of nodes (individual actors) and ties (relationships between actors)
• Social Interaction


  An exchange between two or more individuals and is a building block of society
• Social capital

  Expected collective or economic benefits derived from the preferential treatment and cooperation between individuals and groups
• Dyad


  A pair of things standing in particular relation; dyadic relation
• The rule of 150 states that the size of a genuine social network is limited to about 150 members
• Social group


  A collection of humans or animals that share certain characteristics, interact with one another, accept expectations and obligations as members of the group, and share a common identity
• The small world phenomenon is the hypothesis that the chain of social acquaintances required to connect one arbitrary person to another arbitrary person anywhere in the world is generally short
• Types of Social Interaction


  • Nonverbal Communication
  • Speech
  • Posture
  • Gestures
  • Clothing
• Familiar stranger

  Individual who is recognized from regular activities, but with whom one does not interact
• Nonverbal Communication

  The process of communicating by sending and receiving wordless messages