Social Groups

Group: A group is a collection of individuals who interact with one another, share goals and
norms, and have a subjective awareness as “we”. To be considered as group, a social unit
must have all three characteristics.
The boundaries of the definition are necessarily hazy. Consider three superficially similar
examples: The individuals in a line waiting to board a bus are unlikely to have a sense of
themselves as a group. A line of prisoners chained together and waiting to board a bus to the
penitentiary is more likely to have a thicker sense of common feeling.
A social category is a collection of people who do not interact but who share similar
characteristics. For example, women, men, the elderly, and high school students all constitute
social categories. A social category can become a social group when the members in the category
interact with each other and identify themselves as members of the group. In contrast, a social
aggregate is a collection of people who are in the same place, but who do not interact or share
characteristics.
All of the following are examples of social groups, from the smallest possible level to the largest
possible. A family, a group of students in a dormitory, peer group, a friendship, an ethnic group,
a community, a nation, a continent, a university, an organization, etc.

Types of Groups
1. Dyads and Triads: Group size effects
A group's size can also determine how its members behave and relate. A small group is small
enough to allow all of its members to directly interact. Examples of small groups include
families, friends, discussion groups, seminar classes, dinner parties, and athletic teams. People
are more likely to experience primary relationships in small group settings than in large settings.
The smallest of small groups is a dyad consisting of two people. A dyad is perhaps the most
cohesive of all groups because of its potential for very close and intense interactions. It also runs
the risk, though, of splitting up. A triad is a group consisting of three persons. A triad does not
tend to be as cohesive and personal as a dyad. The more people who join a group, the less
personal and intimate that group becomes.
Imagine, two people standing in line for lunch. First one talks, then the other, then the first again.
The interaction proceeds in this way for several minutes. Now imagine a third person enters the
interaction. The character of the interaction suddenly changes. At any given moment, two people
are interacting more with each other than either is with the third. When the third persons win the
attention of one of the other two, a new dyad is formed, supplanting the previous pairing. The
group, a triad, then consist of a dyad (the pair that is interacting) plus an isolate.
 2. Primary and Secondary Groups
Charles Horton Cooley, a famous sociologist of Chicago School of Sociology, introduced the
concept of Primary group-defined as a group consisting of intimate, face to face interaction
and relatively long lasting relationships. Examples of primary groups are families, friends,
peers, neighbors, classmates, sororities, fraternities, and church members.
Primary groups are distinguished by some of the following characteristics:
 There is face-to-face informal interaction among members. Members feel relaxed around
one another.
 There is high sentiment or loyalty.
 Identification (group identity) and close cooperation among members
 There is a high level of emotional, spiritual satisfaction to be derived from involvement
in primary social groups.
 Each individual is important to the group. The group is particular about who can be a
member.
 Primary groups have a powerful influence on an individual’s personality or self-identity.
 Primary groups are often small in size.
In contrast to primary groups are secondary groups that are larger in membership, less
intimate, and less long lasting. Members of secondary groups are less personal or emotional
than those of primary groups. These groups are marked by secondary relationships in
which communication is formal. Members of secondary groups may not know each other
or have much face‐to‐face interaction.
Examples of secondary groups include all the students at a college or university, all the people in
your neighborhood, and all the people in a bureaucracy or corporation.
Main features (traits) of secondary social groups include:
 Formal interaction takes place between members.
 There is little or no emotional involvement between members.
 Members are more competitive than cooperative.
 Members are less intimate.
 Rules are formalized and each member must follow the rules. Punishment also are
applied in a standard way for all members.
 Membership is unlimited.
Primary and secondary groups serve different needs. Primary group give people intimacy,
companionship, and emotional support. These are termed expressive needs (also called
sociomotional needs). Family and friends share amplify your good fortune, rescue you when you
misbehave, and cheer up when life looks grim. This group is an important source of social
control.
Secondary groups serve instrumental needs (also called task-oriented needs). Athletic teams
form to have fun and win games. Political groups form to raise funds and bend the will of
legislature. Corporations’ forms to make profit, and employees join corporations to make a
living.
Both primary and secondary groups are indispensable elements of society.

3. Reference Groups
Definition: A reference group is a collection of people that we use as a standard of comparison
for ourselves regardless of whether we are part of that group. We use reference groups to
evaluate the relative worth or desirability of our appearance, thoughts, feelings, and behavior and
to judge the appropriateness of our appearance and behavior.

For example, suppose that Susie is a 13-year-old female who transfers to a new school. Susie
may pay attention to what her schoolmates wear, how they speak, where they hang out, and how
they behave. Susie then takes this information and uses it in order to modify her speech,
determine what she wears to school, how she does her hair, which shows to watch on television,
etc.

A group that we have been a part of in the past or that we will be a part of in the future can serve
as a reference group. A married man may still look to his single friends as a reference group,
even though this is a group that he no longer belongs to.

4. In-Groups and Out-Groups

When groups have a sense of themselves as “us”, there will be a complementary sense of
“them.” The distinction is commonly characterized as in-groups versus out-groups.

An in-groups is a social group toward which a member feels respect and loyalty. Whereas
an out-group is a social group toward which a person feels a sense of competition or
opposition.

Tensions between groups sharpens the group’s boundaries and give people a clearer social
identity. However, members of in-groups generally hold overly positive views of themselves and
unfairly negative views of various out-groups.

For Examples: The groups with which individual identifies himself are his in group. one’s
family, one’s college are example of his in group. But out groups refers to those groups with
which individual do not identify himself. These are outside groups. Pakistan is an out group for
Indians.

In group is a group to which individual belongs to but all other group to which he does not
belongs to are his out group.
 Leadership
One element is always present in groups, even in those groups that try to avoid it: leadership. A
leader is a person who is able to influence the behavior of others. Groups always have
leaders, even if the leader do not hold formal positions of authority.

Types of leadership:

Instrumental vs. Expressive Leadership:

Many of us choose to be in social groups because there are number of benefits that we receive as
members. We may choose to be in a group for instrumental (or task) reasons so that the other
group members can help us accomplish something. Or, we may choose to be in a group for
expressive (or emotional) reasons so that the other group members can provide us with
companionship, love, and security.

Think about our social groups in the context of leadership. There are typically two types of
leadership: instrumental and expressive. Instrumental leadership focuses on achieving goals.
Leaders who are dominantly instrumental work to maintain productivity and ensure that tasks are
completed. They make good managers because they get the job done. However, they are often so
focused on the task that they can alienate other members of the group.

Expressive leadership, on the other hand, focuses on maintaining group cohesion or

members well-being. Leaders who are dominantly expressive work to maintain warm, friendly
relationships and ensure the collective well-being of the group. They make good bosses because
they truly care for their employees. However, they are sometimes lacking efficiency and
organizational skills.

Although most leaders are dominantly instrumental or expressive, both styles are needed for
groups to work effectively. So, the most effective leaders have the ability to use the style that
best fits the situation. They can switch from being instrumental and focusing on the task, to being
expressive and focusing on collaboration, whenever they see a need.

Authoritarian Leadership:
Authoritarian leadership focuses on instrumental concerns, takes personal charge of decision
making, and demands that group members obey rules.
Authoritarian leaders make decisions on their own with no input from group members
Leaders who use authoritarian decision-making make all of the major group decisions and
demand compliance from the group members. Authoritarian leaders typically make decisions on
their own and tell other group members what to do and how to do it. Authoritarian leadership can
be beneficial when a decision needs to be made quickly or when a project or situation is
particularly stressful. This type of decision-making is easily abused, and authoritarian leaders
are often viewed as bossy and controlling. Because authoritarian leaders make decisions without
consulting the group, many group members may resent the leader because they are unable to
contribute ideas.

Examples of authoritarian leaderships parents, certain CEOs, dictators

Democratic Leadership:
The next type of leadership is democratic. Leaders who use democratic decision-making
encourage group discussion and believe in decision-making through consensus. Democratic
leaders still make the final decision, but do so only after carefully considering what other group
members have said. Usually, their decision goes with the majority. Democratic leaders are
generally the most popular. They make members of the group feel included and promote
teamwork and creativity.

While democratic leadership has been described as the most effective decision-making style, it
does have a downside. The time that it takes to reach a group consensus can be crippling for a
project. In order for every group member to be heard, discussion can last for a very long time.
This can lead to frustration and sometimes even uncompleted projects. Democratic leaders are
more effective in situations where group members are concerned about individual rights or
where there is disagreement over goals.

Laissez-Faire Leadership:
Laissez-faire, loosely translated, means 'to leave alone' in French. Therefore, leaders who use
laissez-faire decision-making let the groups make their own decisions. They are only minimally
involved, basically sitting back and letting the group function on its own. Laissez-faire is usually
the least effective style of leadership decision-making.