Social Groups

Definition:
According to Ogburn and Nimkoff , “When two or more individuals come together and influence
each other, they may be said to constitute a social group.”
According to MacIver and Page, “Any collection of human beings who are brought into a social
relationship with one another”.
Social groups are the clusters of people with whom we interact in everyday life. Two or more
persons in interaction constitute a social group.
● A social group is two or more people who identify with and interact with one another. A
group is made up of people with shared experiences, loyalties, and interests. In short,
while keeping their individuality, members of social groups also think of themselves as a
special “we.”
● 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. Example all children born from approximately 1980–2000 are referred to as
“Millennials.” Millennials are a category and not a group Because while some of them
may share a sense of identity, they do not, as a whole, interact frequently with each other.
● A social aggregate is a collection of people who are in the same place at the same time
but who otherwise have nothing else in common. A crowd at a sporting event and the
audience at a movie or play are examples of social aggregates. A social aggregate is a
collection of people who are in the same place, but who do not interact or share
characteristics.

Characteristics of Social group

1. Collection of Individuals: A social group consists of people. Without individuals there
can be no group.
2. Interaction among members: In a social group, people must interact with each other
3. Sense of unity: They must have a ‘we-feeling’; tendency to identify with the group. The
members of a social group develop common loyalty or feeling of sympathy among
themselves in all matters because of this sense of unity.
4. Similar behavior: Members of a group behave in a more or less similar way.
5. Group norms: Every group has its own rules and norms which members are supposed to
follow. He who deviates from the existing group-norms is severely punished. These
norms may be in the form of customs, folkways, mores, traditions, laws etc. They may be
written or unwritten. The group exercises some control over its members through the
prevailing rules or norms.
Functions of Social Groups:
 1. Social groups are typically organized to pursue common interests.
2. Social groups are defined and separated by boundaries. It identifies the members of a
group.
3. Setting goals: Participants in a group with a common goal are clearly aware of what is
expected from them. On a personal level, setting goals helps people work toward their
own objectives, which are most commonly financial or career-based goals.
4. Controlling the behaviors of group members: The behavior of group members can be
controlled indirectly through group polarization, groupthink, and herd behavior.
5. Choosing leaders: Leadership is the ability to organize a group of people to achieve a
common purpose.

Type of Social Groups

Primary Groups & Secondary Groups:

Sociologist Charles Horton Cooley suggested that groups can broadly be divided into two
categories on the basis of the kind of contact:
1. Primary group
● Primary groups play the most critical role in our lives.
● The primary group is usually fairly small and is made up of individuals who
generally engage face-to-face in long-term, emotionally significant ways.
● In a primary group, people spend a great deal of time together, engage in a wide
range of activities, and feel that they know one another pretty well.
● Primary groups display a personal orientation, in short, they show real concern for
one another.
● Primary groups perform expressive functions.
● The family is every society’s most important primary group.
2. Secondary group
● A large and impersonal social group whose members pursue a specific goal or
activity.
● Secondary relationships involve weak emotional ties and little personal
knowledge of one another.
● Many secondary groups exist for only a short time, beginning and ending without
particular significance.
● Secondary groups include many more people than primary groups.
● People in secondary groups have a goal orientation.
● Example: One’s fellow students or coworkers can be examples of a secondary
group. A graduate seminar, for example, can start as a secondary group focused on
the class at hand, but as the students work together throughout their program, they
may find common interests and strong ties that transform them into a more
durable primary group.
Neither primary nor secondary groups are bound by strict definitions or set limits. In fact,
 people can move from one group to another.

In-Group and Out-Group:

Sociologist William Sumner developed the concepts of in-group and out-group
1. In-group: An in-group is the group that an individual feels she belongs to, and which she
believes to be an integral part of who she is. A social group toward which a member feels
respect and loyalty. An in‐group typically has three characteristics:
● Members use titles, external symbols, and dress to distinguish themselves from the
out‐group.
● Members tend to clash or compete with members of the out‐group. This
competition with the other group can also strengthen the unity within each group.
● Members apply positive stereotypes to their in‐group and negative stereotypes to
the out‐group. An in-group membership can promote very negative attitudes
toward the out-groups with which the in-groups feel they are competing.
2. Out-Group: An out-group is a group someone doesn’t belong to. A social group toward
which a person feels a sense of competition or opposition. Sports teams, unions, and
sororities are examples of in-groups and out-groups.

Reference Groups:
A social group that serves as a point of reference in making evaluations and decisions. A
reference group is a group that people compare themselves to—it provides a standard of
measurement. Reference groups provide a standard for guiding and evaluating our attitudes and
behaviors.
The term ‘reference group’ was coined by Herbert Hyman. Peer groups are common reference
groups. Kids and adults pay attention to what their peers wear, what music they like, what they do
with their free time—and they compare themselves to what they see. The family we belong to
obviously affects our actions and views as well.

Dyads and Triads

1. Dyads:
Dyads are two-member groups with high intensity but low stability because it is
dependent on both members’ commitment. Examples include a divorce, which effectively
ends the “group” of the married couple, or two best friends never speaking again.
2. Triads:
Triads are three-member groups with lower intensity, higher stability since one member
can leave, but also has the chance for two members to hold majority opinion. In a triad,
however, the dynamic is quite different. If one person withdraws, the group lives on.