Chapter six: Social Groups and Formal Organizations

22 Chapter Overview Social Groups Bureaucracies Social Groups Bureaucracies Group Dynamics

Social Groups and Formal Organizations Aggregate – People who temporarily share a space but don’t see themselves as belonging together Category - People who share common characteristics 33 Aggregates and Categories (What is not a group)

Social Groups and Formal Organizations Social Groups 1.Two or more people 2.Interact in patterned ways 3.Feeling of unity 4.Shared interests

Social Groups and Formal Organizations  Primary Groups – Charles Cooley referred to primary groups as “the springs of life” Essential to our emotional well being Tend to be smaller than other groups Very impersonal We can be our true self Enduring Relationship focus: “END-IN-ITSELF” 55 Social Groups

Social Groups and Formal Organizations  Secondary Groups People come together on the basis of a mutual interest More formal than primary groups Often large Members interact on the basis of statuses Fail to meet the need for intimacy Weak ties Temporary Relationship focus: “MEANS-TO-END” 66 Social Groups

Social Groups and Formal Organizations Many different voluntary associations today in the United States Organized on Basis of Mutual Interest The Inner Circle and Iron Law of Oligarchy  How organizations come to be dominated by a self- perpetuating elite. 77 Social Groups (Voluntary Associations)

Social Groups and Formal Organizations  In-Groups – People feel a loyalty towards their in-groups  Out-Groups – People of the in-group dislike out-groups  Positive consequence of in-groups: People feel a sense of belonging Loyalty  Negative consequence of in-groups and out-groups: Intense rivalries can develop “We vs. Them” mentality Ethnocentrism 88 Social Groups

Social Groups and Formal Organizations  Reference Groups – Groups that we use to evaluate ourselves Reference Groups will change as we go through the life course Socialization Comparison “ RELATIVE DEPRIVATION” "RELATIVE GRATIFICATION" 99 Social Groups

Social Groups and Formal Organizations People Connect Online Online Chat Rooms Can be impersonal and fail to meet the needs of intimacy  10 Social Groups (Electronic Communities)

Social Groups and Formal Organizations People who are linked to one another through friends, family, acquaintances, etc. A bank of social relationships It is like a snowball effect Milgram Study 1967  “Small World Phenomenon” Criticisms J. Kleinfeld replicated the research (2002) Socially Diverse Society

Social Groups and Formal Organizations Five Characteristics of Bureaucracies Clear Cut Levels (Hierarchy) Division of Labor Written Rules Written Communication and Records Impersonality  12 Bureaucracies (Weber)

Social Groups and Formal Organizations Take on a Life of their Own Suffers from Goal Displacement –When the old goal is reached in a bureaucracy and a new goal is created to keep the bureaucracy running Rationalization of Society  Bureaucracies with so many rules, regulations, and emphasis on results, would increasingly take over our lives. Red Tape Bureaucratic Alienation  Marx—Worker’s Alienation  Weber—Iron Cage  13 Perpetuation of Bureaucracies

Social Groups and Formal Organizations How groups influence us and how we affect groups Dyads – Two people  Most intense or intimate of all groups  Most unstable Triads – Three People  Interaction becomes less intense and intimate  Stronger and more stable As a group increases in size it becomes more formal and more stable Coalitions may begin to form Greater Diffusion of Responsibility may occur in larger groups – “Someone else will take care of it” As a group gets larger, smaller groups may form Groupthink may occur- collective tunnelvision Darley & Latane (Diffusion of Responsibility)  14 Group Dynamics

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Social Groups and Formal Organizations Leaders are People Who Influence Others’ Behaviors, Opinions, and Attitudes 1.Instrumental Leader – a leader who keeps the group on track towards meeting its goals 2.Expressive Leader – tries to life the groups morale through motivation (can also be an instrumental leader)  16 Leadership – Two Types of Leaders

Social Groups and Formal Organizations 1)Authoritarian – One who gives orders and instructions with little to no information 2)Democractic – Tried to gain a group consensus 3)Lassiez-Faire – Totally hands off leader, lets the group lead  The leadership style will change as the situation changes  17 Leadership – Three Leadership Styles

Social Groups and Formal Organizations Asch study Studied the effects of peer pressure Used a set of cards 6 stooges and a non- stooge Milgram study Studied the affects of authority figures Teacher and a learner Controversial experiment  18

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Social Groups and Formal Organizations Groupthink Decision making that ignores alternate solutions in order to maintain group harmony