You live with a group of people ( your family) friends, classmates, fellow club or team members, people at your workplace all of these could be groups in your life. Why do you care about some of these groups much more than others? To what degree do groups like these shape your behaviour or attitudes? How do they do this?

Gang attacks on innocent people suggest that group pressure can cause people to do harmful, illegal actions. Has group pressure ever caused you to do something that you were later ashamed of? Can most people resist the pressure to conform to group expectations? If you were asked by someone in authority to harm other people would you?

Our society places a high value on teamwork and being able to work effectively in groups. Have humans always lived in groups, or did this evolve as we became civilized? Why did humans form large social groups in which to live and work? Is it because 2 heads are better than one, meaning, are group decisions always better than individual ones?

When social scientists talk about groups, they usually mean social groups A social group is 2 or more people who have these four characteristics: 1) they interact regularly and influence each other. 2) they believe they have something in common a shared identity 3) they have an informal or formal social structure with leaders and followers 4) they have a group consensus on certain values, goals, and behaviour.

How might a close friend be a social group by definition? 1) You see each other often, talk, and probably influence how the other thinks and feels about other people, events, or things. Have you ever hated someone because a friend did? 2) you have a common identity you are friends 3) in this example the structure is informal ( taking turns being the leader) 4) for you and your friend to stay as a group, you have to share certain values. People who are just randomly waiting at a bus stop are not social groups by the standards of social scientists.

Why humans form groups: the anthro perspective. Not all species live in groups Primates including humans do live in large social groups Physical anthropologists have found that most primates live in social groups One reason for this is primates in large groups can more easily defend scarce food resources from other animals. Large groups also offer protection and a greater possibility of being warned of approaching danger.

Types of groups and their influence: Sociological Perspective Sociologists focus more on different types of groups today, how these groups affect their members, and how individuals in the group can affect group behaviour. You belong to different types of groups that have a varying impact on your life. Sociologists call close personal groups like your family a primary group Less personal and more limited relationships like a school band are called secondary groups

Primary groups: A negative aspect is that many primary groups force their members to conform, to group expectations even if we do not really want to Also there may be conflicting ideas between family and peer groups.

Secondary groups: More impersonal and formal than primary groups Members may not know much more about one another than their position in the group, and they rarely share personal feelings or private concerns Less influential Do not provide the powerful emotional support or the same sense of a close, shared identity that primary groups do.