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Essentials of
Sociology
9th Edition
Chapter 5: Social Groups and Formal Organizations
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2. Aggregates and Categories (What is not a group)
Aggregate – People who temporarily share a space but don’t see themselves as belonging together
Category - People Who share similar characteristics
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Social Groups
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
is the gang a primary group or a secondary group for him?
How is it different from some of the primary and secondary groups you belong to?
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Social Groups
Secondary Groups
People come together on the basis of a mutual interest
More formal than primary groups
Members interact on the basis of statuses
Fail to meet the need for intimacy
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5. Social Groups (Voluntary Associations)
Many different voluntary associations today in the United States
Organized on Basis of Mutual Interest
The Inner Circle and Iron Law of Oligarchy
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Social Groups
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
Negative consequence of in-groups and out-groups: Intense rivalries can develop
“Us vs. Them” mentality
Example of Group Formation
Do your in-groups tend to be racially homogenous? Why do you think that is?
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Social Groups
Reference Groups – Groups that we use to evaluate ourselves
Reference Groups will change as we go through the life course
Reference Groups sometimes contradict the values of other groups
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8. Social Groups (Electronic Communities)
People Connect Online
Online Chat Rooms
Can be impersonal and fail to meet the needs of intimacy
Do the people in your networks tend to be more similar to you or more different from you in terms of:
Race? Religion? Social Class?
Why do you think that is?
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9. Bureaucracies (Weber)
Five Characteristics of Bureaucracies
Clear Cut Levels
Division of Labor
Written Rules
Written Communication and Records
Impersonality
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10. Bureaucracies
Example: Figure 5.1 the typical bureaucratic structure of a medium-sized university

11. Perpetuation of Bureaucracies
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
Red Tape
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Group Dynamics
Dyads – Two people
Triads – Three People
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 tunnel vision
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13. Groupthink
In groupthink, groups of powerful people commit themselves to a single action and do not entertain alternatives.
What race, class, and gender of people have traditional made up these “powerful groups?”
How do you think the make-up of powerful groups have influenced their courses of action?
Funny Example of Group Think

14. Leadership – Two Types of Leaders
Leaders are People Who Influence Others’ Behaviors, Opinions, and Attitudes
Instrumental Leader – a leader who keeps the group on track towards meeting its goals
Expressive Leader – tries to lift the group’s morale through motivation (can also be an instrumental leader)
Do you think men and women often take on different leadership styles?
If so, do you attribute this difference to biological differences or socialization?
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15. Leadership – Three Leadership Styles
Authoritarian – Gives instructions with little to no information
Democratic – Tried to gain a group consensus
Laissez-Faire – Totally hands off leader, lets the group lead
The leadership style will change as the situation changes
Do you think men and women often take on different leadership styles?
If so, do you attribute this difference to biological differences or socialization?
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16. Asch and Milgram Studies
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
Given the significance of Milgram’s findings, do you think the scientific community overreacted to these experiments?
If so, how else could we study why so many people are unable to stand up to discrimination (even in its most extreme forms?)
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17. The Power of Peer Pressure
How could Asch’s experiment tell us about why some people are ethnocentric about their states or countries?
Figure Asch’s Cards Source: Asch 1953:452–453.