Chapter 5: Networks, Groups, and Organizations

Network

A set of direct and indirect social ties that connect people to one another.

Life Chances

A person's opportunities to access resources and improve their life circumstances.

Mark Granovetter

A sociologist known for research on social networks and the importance of weak ties.

Strong Ties

Close relationships with people such as family and close friends.

Weak Ties

More distant relationships, such as acquaintances, that often connect people to new information and opportunities.

Economic or Financial Capital

Opportunities and advantages that come from money and financial resources.

Social Capital

Opportunities and resources gained through social relationships and networks.

Cultural Capital

Advantages gained through specialized knowledge, education, skills, tastes, or cultural knowledge.

Temporal Capital

Opportunities or advantages created by having available free time.

Social Group

A collection of people who interact with one another based on shared expectations, interests, or identity.

Social Aggregate

A collection of people who are in the same place at the same time but do not meaningfully interact.

Social Category

A collection of people who share a characteristic but do not necessarily interact.

Ingroup

A group that a person identifies with and feels they belong to.

Outgroup

A group that a person sees as separate from their own group.

Primary Group

A small group characterized by close, personal, and emotionally important relationships.

Secondary Group

A larger and more impersonal group formed around a goal or activity.

Group Size Dynamics

As group size increases, intimacy usually decreases while stability can increase.

Task Leader

A leader who focuses on accomplishing goals, solving problems, and completing tasks.

Emotional or Social Leader

A leader who focuses on group morale, relationships, and emotional support.

Charismatic Leadership

Leadership based on a person's ability to inspire loyalty and enthusiasm through personality or influence.

Transformational Leader

A leader who inspires people to change, improve, and work toward a larger shared vision.

Transactional Leader

A leader who motivates people through rewards, punishments, rules, and exchanges.

Groupthink

A process in which group members ignore, suppress, or dismiss ideas that challenge the group's consensus.

Organization

A group with an identifiable membership that works together toward a common goal.

Bureaucracy

A large-scale organization with a clear hierarchy, written rules, specialized roles, and formal procedures.

Iron Law of Oligarchy

The idea that large organizations tend to become controlled by a small group of powerful leaders.