LESSON 6
What is a Social Group?
A social group is two or more people who identify with and engage with
each other (Macionis 2012). As an individual, you may be a member of a
religious group, an ethnic group, a working colleague group, a college class, a
sports team, and so on. These are also referred to as social groups.
A social group is distinct from an aggregate, which consists of people who
are temporarily grouped together in an area, perhaps even performing the same
things, but do not consider themselves to be members of the same group. For
example, being in a busy shop or waiting in line for a movie does not make you
feel like you belong with the people doing the same thing. A category and a
group are not the same thing. You may share comparable qualities, such as age
or height, yet you may not interact or experience a feeling of belonging if you
are in the same category as someone.
TYPES OF GROUPS ACCORDING TO INFLUENCE:
Primary and Secondary Groups
The difference between primary and secondary groups lies in the kinds of
relationships their members have with one another.
Primary groups involve interaction among members who have an
emotional investment or attachment in one another and a situation, who know
one another intimately and interact as total individuals rather than through
specialized roles. They are smaller in number and occur over a long time.
Examples of relationships under the primary group are between friends, husband
and wife, parent and child, and teacher and pupil. On the other hand, sample
groups under primary groups include playgroup, family, village/neighborhood,
and work team.
Secondary groups usually have specific goals, are formally organized, and
are impersonal. They tend to be larger than the primary group, and its members
do not necessarily interact with all other members. Examples of relationships
under the secondary group are between clerk and customer, announcer and
listener, performer and spectator, and officer and subordinate. On the other
hand, sample groups under the second group include nation, clerical hierarchy,
professional association, and corporation.
IN-GROUPS OUT-GROUPS
is a social group TYPES OF is a social group
to which a GROUPS with which an
person ACCORDING TO individual does
psychologically MEMBERSHIP not identify
identifies as
being a member.
Reference Groups
A reference group is a group or social category that an individual uses to
help define beliefs, attitudes, and values and to guide behaviour. It is often a
category we identify with, rather than a specific group we belong to. In addition,
they provide a comparison against which people measure themselves and
others.
Positive reference groups are composed of people we want to emulate.
Negative reference groups, on the other hand, provide a model we do not wish
to follow.
Types of Reference Groups
A normative reference group influences your norms, attitudes, and
values through direct interaction.
A comparative reference group is a group of individuals whom you
compare yourself against and may strive to be like.
Examples:
NORMATIVE teacher siblings friends
COMPARATIVEE celebrities heroes
Social Network
A social network is a sociological concept that refers to the social relationships
that exist between network parts and individuals. In an organization, network
elements can include social groups or teams, organizational units, or entire
organizations.
Social Network in practice:
All our functions at work and in private take place in some social networks. Every
social network is about relations that include social interaction and social
communication. We can easily describe, map, and analyze social networks
through social network analysis and sociometry. The basic types of social
networks in the organization are formal organizational structure, and informal
organizational structure. The social network in the organization forms an
informal organizational structure. Its influence on the events and decision-
making in the organization is greater in less authoritative management styles
and types of the organizations. Often in practice, the informal organizational
structure is more influential on what is happening in the organization than the
formal organizational structure.
What’s More
A. DIRECTIONS: Differentiate primary from secondary group using Venn
Diagram and answer the processing question below.
PROCESSING QUESTION:
1. Can society survive without groups? Explain your answer.
__________________________________________________________________________________
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B. DIRECTIONS: Analyze the pictures and identify the correct type of reference
group. Write your answer in the space provided.
1. 2.
TEACHER FAMILY
ANSWER: ANSWER:
3.
4.
SIBLINGS AND FRIENDS
MEDICAL OFFICER
ANSWER: ANSWER:
What I Have Learned
DIRECTIONS: Fill in the blanks with the correct answer to complete
the statements.
1. Social _____ is a group in which we can feel like we belong.
2. Members in ______ groups interact with one another because they
have an emotional investment in one another.
3. An _______ is a social group to which a person psychologically
identifies as being a member.
4. ______ group is a social category that people use to help them
define their ideas, attitudes, and values, as well as to influence
their behavior.
5. Through direct connection, your _________ reference group shapes
your norms, attitudes, and values. A comparative reference group
is a group of people who you can compare yourself to and try to
emulate.
Assessment
DIRECTIONS: Fill in the blanks with the correct answer to
complete the statements. Choose from the words inside the oval.
1. Primary groups involve interaction among members who have an
_________ investment or attachment in one another.
2. Secondary groups are characterized by much less ________ among its
members.
3. In-group is a social group to which a person psychologically identifies
as being a __________.
4. Out-group is a social group with which an individual does not
_____________.
5. Tajfel and colleagues found that people can form ____________ in-groups
within a matter of minutes and that such groups can form even based
on completely arbitrary and invented _____________ characteristics,
such as preferences for certain painting.
6. Discrimination between ingroups and outgroups is a matter of
favoritism towards an ingroup and the absence of equivalent
___________ towards an outgroup.
7. Intergroup aggression is any behavior intended to _________ another
person because he or she is a member of an out group.
8. Positive reference groups are composed of people we want to
__________. Negative reference groups, on the other hand, provide a
model we do not wish to __________.
9. A normative reference group influences your norms, attitudes, and
________ through direct interaction.
10. Social network is a ___________ concept for a set of social relations
between network elements that interact, and which are individuals.
emotional intimacy member identify
self-preferencing discriminating favoritism harm
emulate follow values sociological
