People who think of themselves as belonging together and who interact with one another Provide intimate relationships and a sense of
belonging Groups are not to be confused with:
Aggregate- a number of people who happen to be in one place but don’t interact– Shoppers standing in line
Category- people who share similar characteristics but don’t interact with one another or consider each others interest– All people who wear glasses
Groups that are characterized by cooperative, intimate, long-term face- to-face relationships Family and friends
Meets the basic need of humans to have a sense of belonging and the feeling of being appreciated
The values and attitudes of the primary group become fused into our identity Continue to influence how we see the world
• Larger, more anonymous, more formal and more impersonal than primary groups
• Based on some interest of activity• American Sociological Association, Democratic
Party, etc.• Members are likely to interact on the basis
of specific roles: president, manager, worker, student
• Secondary groups tend to break down into primary groups: cliques at school or work
• Voluntary associations are secondary groups made up of volunteers who have organized on the basis of some mutual interest• Boy Scouts for example• Inner circle- key members in the association
• Iron law of oligarchy- the tendency of the inner core to dominate the organization by become elites
• In-Groups: groups toward which individuals feel loyalty– provide a sense of belonging
• Out-Group: those toward which the feel antagonism – Help to reinforce the loyalty of members in
the in-group• “US” vs. “THEM”• According to Robert K. Merton, the
behaviors of an in-group’s members are seen as virtues, while the same behaviors by members of an out-group are viewed as vices
Groups we use as standards to evaluate ourselves, whether or not we actually belong to those groups Family, neighbors, teachers, classmates,
co-workers, members of your church Can be a group you don’t belong to- college
students
Exert great influence over behavior- clothing, hairstyles, speech, etc.
• Consist of people who are linked by various social ties– Cliques for example– Our interactions within social networks
connect us to the larger society– Think Facebook-everyone you know, everyone
they know, and so on.• Tend to perpetuate social inequality in
which whom you know might be more important that what you know– Good old boy network
How individuals affect groups and how groups affect individuals
Size of the group is significant Dyad- 2 ppl smallest most fragile of all
human groupings Triad- 3 ppl bond between 2 of the
members is stronger, someone left out As more members are added stability
increases but intimacy decreases
As it grows there is a diffusion of responsibility Think about group work, the more people in the
group the less you actually have to do As it grows, the group loses it sense of
intimacy Group becomes more formal
As it grows, group tends to divide into smaller groups cliques
Groups generally reward members who conform to their norms
Group opinions strongly influence individual behavior and judgment toward that of the group.
People who influence the behavior, opinions, or attitudes of others
Who becomes a leader? People who are perceived by group
members as strongly representing their values or as able to lead a group out of a crisis
• 2 types of leaders:– Instrumental (task-oriented)- try to keep the group
moving toward its goal– Expressive (socioemotional) those who are less likely
to be recognized as leaders but help with the group’s morale
• 3 types of leadership styles:– Authoritarian leaders- those who give orders and
don’t explain why they praise or condemn a person’s work
– Democratic leaders- those who try and gain a consensus by explaining proposed actions, suggesting alternative approaches and giving facts as the basis for evaluation
– Laissez-faire leaders- those who are passive and give the group almost total freedom to do as they wish
Group decision making is slower but tend to be more accurate
People in groups are more willing to make riskier decisions
A study by Dr. Soloman Asch indicated that people are greatly influenced by peer pressure
The group is so powerful that most people are willing to say things that they know are not true just to go along
Groupthink- coined by Irving Janis to refer to the collective tunnel vision that group members sometimes develop As they begin to think alike, they become
convinced that there is only one “right” viewpoint and a single course of action
Comes with great consequences Post 9/11 and Guantanamo Bay
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