Social group
A social group is a collection of human beings. “A number of units of anything in close proximity to one another”. In the human context, the social group is – “Any collection of human beings who are brought into social relationships with one another”.
Definitions from sociologists:
- “ A social group is a number of persons two or more, who have some common objects of attention, who are stimulating to each other, who have common loyalty and participate in similar activities”. (Bogardus)
- “Whenever two or more individuals come together and influence one another, they may be said to constitute a social group”. (Ogburn & Nimkoff)
Characteristics of social groups
- Reciprocal relationships
- Sense of unity and feeling of sympathy towards each other.
- We- feeling: Members defend their interests collectively.
- Common interests and ideals
- Similar behavior: for achieving the common goals and interests.
- Group norms: Every group has its own set of rules and norms.
Functions of Groups
- Defining boundaries
- Choosing leaders
- Making decisions
- Setting goals
- Assigning tasks
- Controlling members behavior
Types of group
According to the nature of social ties
- Primary group (family, neighbor)
- Secondary group
According to social identification
- In-groups
- Out-groups
- Reference group
- According to the organization
- Formal organization
- Informal organization
Primary Group
- The primary group is small in size and characterized by the personal, intimate and non-specialized relationship between their members.
- E . g. Family, Basketball team, A couple, Football team, classmates, etc.
Elements of the primary group
- Tend to be small and ordinarily composed of fewer than 15 to 20 individuals.
- Interaction and communication among members are of intimate and personal nature.
- Members commonly develop strong emotional bonds with other members.
- Generally persist over an extensive period of time.
Secondary Group
- Secondary groups refer to a formal, impersonal group in which there is little social intimacy or mutual understanding.
- The relationship between the members is very superficial and there is only an indirect extension of influence amongst them.
- The groups which provide experience lacking in intimacy are called secondary groups. (Ogburn)
Elements of Secondary Group
- Formal and Impersonal relations
- The group does not exert any primary influence upon its members.
- They do not meet face to face.
- They perform their jobs, carryout order, pay their dues and still may not see each other face to face.
Primary Vs Secondary
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