SOC 101 CH 5

social groups

collections of people who share a sense of common identity and regularly interact with one another based on shared expectations
ex: friends, peers, family, etc

category vs. group

Not every collection of people is a group. Some are simply categories of people, such as women, men, college students, Chinese, and Americans

Crowd vs. Group

People waiting for a train or watching a sporting event or shopping at mall who are not interacting but simply sharing a space are a crowd

intimacy and social support

types of groups differ in degree of _ and _

primary groups

characterized by intense emotional ties, intimacy, and identification with membership in the group; satisfy personal needs of belonging and fulfillment

secondary groups

large, impersonal groups with minimal emotional and intimate ties; join to achieve some specific goal
ex: classrooms, workplace, sports team

Cooley’s looking-glass self

reference group

provides a standard for judging our own attitudes or behaviors

Georg Simmel

group size affects quality of interaction and effectiveness in accomplishing tasks

Dyad

group of two persons

- Require full attention and cooperation of both
- Strong bond, but fragile stability
- Cultural and legal norms arise to support

Triad

group of three people

- Less strong ties, but more stable
- Relieves pressure on other two members to always get along
- One can serve as mediator between others

Alliances or coalitions

groups that may form between two members, enabling them to “gang up” on the third member
- destabilizes the group

social closure

ability of groups to exclude outsiders or “undesirables” from participating

role

A behavior expected of someone who holds a particular status

role set

To identify a number of roles attached to a single status

role conflict

A conflict among the roles connected to two or more statuses

role strain

Tension among the roles connected to a singular status

role exit

The process by which people disengage from important social roles

leaders

all groups tend to have _

transformational leaders

instill a sense of mission or higher purpose, transforming the nature of the group

ex: superstar players on sports teams, Obama, Trump

transactional leaders

concerned with accomplishing group tasks and goals

ex: a teacher, Bush, Biden

power

ability to mobilize resources and achieve a goal despite resistance of others

legitimate authority

power recognized as deserved or earned

positional power

stems from the official leadership position

personal power

derived from the leader’s personality
- ability to persuade rather than command

Soloman Asch experiment

Conforming to the group

Miligram experiment

Obedience to authority

Stanford Prison study

Conformity and Obedience

groupthink

When group members ignore anything that goes against the group consensus

structuralism

The idea that there exists an overarching structure within which culture and other aspects of society must be understood

Pierre Bourdieu

several forms of capital or social currency stem from our membership in different groups

Economic capital

money and material that can be used to produce goods and services

Cultural capital

informal, interpersonal skills, habits, manners, linguistic styles, tastes, and lifestyles

Social capital

personal connections and networks that enable people to accomplish goals and extend influence

organization

A group with an identifiable membership that engages in concerted collective actions to achieve a common purpose

formal organization

An organization that is rationally designed to achieve particular objectives by means of explicit rules, regulations, and procedures

utilitarian

join for expected material benefit

ex: Universities, corporations, banks

coercive

forced to give unquestioned obedience to authority

ex: Prisons, mental hospitals, rehab centers

normative

pursue a morally worthwhile goal without expectation of material reward

ex: Charities, church groups, civic leagues

formal organizations

Utilitarian, Coercive, Normative

Bureaucracy (characteristics)

- Based on written procedural rules
- Hierarchy of authority
- Staffed by full-time paid staff
- Achieve goals via efficiency
- Dominant form of social organization in modern society
- Rational, not necessarily reasonable
- High degree of division of labor and specialization
- Explicit written rules and regulations
- Impersonality
- Qualification-based employment

Bureaucracy (shortcomings)

- Weak reward systems (low wages, few benefits)
- Rigid rules
- Bureaucratic ritualism (preoccupation with rules)
- Alienation (isolation, meaninglessness, powerlessness)
- Communication problems
- Parkinson's Law (work expands to fill the time available)
- Peter Principle (promotion to level of incompetence)
- Iron law of oligarchy (domination by small group)
- Dehumanization

iron cage

become trapped in a prison of rules and regulations that denies humanity, creativity, and autonomy

irrationalities of rationality

- Waste and incompetence
- Trained incapacity
- Goal displacement

iron law of oligarchy

inevitable tendency for large-scale bureaucracies to become ruled undemocratically by a handful of people