1. Social Groups and Societies
Chapter 6
Social Groups and Societies

2. Groups Groups are the essence of life
We become who we are because of our group membership
Groups influence our thoughts, perceptions, values, behaviors, and actions
The essential feature of groups is that members share something in common and that it is significant
Largest and most complex group is the society

3. Transformation of Societies
Hunting and Gathering Societies
Earliest groups
Pastoral and Horticultural Societies
First to domesticate animals and begin earliest type of gardening
Agricultural Societies
First to farm large scale, gave rise to cultures
Industrial Societies
Post Industrial Societies - Information

4. Groups within Society
Durkheim says small groups stand as a buffer between individual and larger society
They provide intimate relationships that give a sense of meaning and purpose
Sociologists define collections of people in different ways
Aggregate (share space but don’t belong together)
Category (statistic designating people who share similar characteristics)

5. Types of Groups
Primary groups – relationship oriented (intimate long term face to face interaction)
they are essential to emotional well being –they generate feelings of self esteem and provide values and attitudes incorporated into our identities
Secondary groups – larger more formal, impersonal, temporary, and anonymous
Based on interest or activity and members interact based on specific roles (ex. Class)
We have become a secondary group oriented society

6. More Types of Groups
In group – groups that elicit loyal feelings and ones that we feel we belong too.
Out groups – groups that elicit apathetic or antagonistic feelings
Reference groups – groups to which we may or may not belong (they serve 2 functions –normative and comparative)
Because we have more than one reference group internal conflicts can often arise

7. Cliques and Social Networks
Clique – cluster of people within larger group who choose to regularly interact with each other (normal development)
Social network – links and social ties that radiate out from the self (small world)
Milgram experiment on senders and receivers
Networking conscience use or cultivation of social contacts people think will be beneficial to them (good old boys network)
Electronic community – new type of human group

8. Group Dynamics
Ways in which groups affect individuals and individuals affect groups
Dynamics most easily observed in small group settings (all can interact with all)
Sociologists consider group size – types of leaders – leadership styles when studying group dynamics

9. Group Size
Dyads – 2 people (most intense, intimate and unstable of all groups)
Triad – 3 people (dynamics change) – coalitions, jealousies, and rivalries can develop (mediation or arbitration can occur
As groups grow larger it becomes more stable, but intimacy and intensity decrease
Growing groups become more formal, and the group becomes less dependent on one person - relationships become less personal and more businesslike

10. Group size and Dynamics
Darley and Latane experiment on students communicating over intercoms
Diffusion of help – larger groups feel less responsible for assisting others

11. Leadership 2 types of leaders
Instrumental or task leader – keeps the group moving toward its goal
Expressive or socioemotional leader – increases harmony and minimizes conflict
Both are necessary – one keeps the group focused on accomplishing the task and the other maintains group morale
Typically one person can’t be both

12. Leadership Styles
Authoritarian – he/she leads by giving orders (very efficient but no group input creates bad morale and malcontentment)
Democratic – leads by reaching a consensus (members have input, vote or help in making decisions) slower process
Laissez Faire – one who leads by being highly permissive (informs group what needs to be done and leaves them alone) – creates confusion and inefficiency
Lippit and Waite study on leadership styles

13. Peer Pressure Solomon Asch – study of peer pressure
Milgram study of Obedience to Authority
These studies demonstrated “group think”
A term coined by Irving Janus describing a collective tunnel vision that groups sometimes develop
Perception is that there is only one logical conclusion to which all members of the group are impelled by loyalty and trust, to accept
Refusal by FDR to believe Japan would attack Pearl Harbor
Kennedy decision to proceed with the Bay of Pigs invasion
Johnson’s decision to escalate the Vietnam war