1. Social Groups and Formal Organizations
Chapter 5
Social Groups and Formal Organizations

2. Groups Within Society
Definition of Group: People who think of themselves as belonging together and who interact with one another.
© Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

3. Groups Within Society
Aggregate: Individuals who temporarily share the same physical space but do not see themselves as belonging together.
Category: People who have similar characteristics.
© Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

4. Groups Within Society
Primary Groups: A group characterized by intimate, long-term, face-to-face association and cooperation.
The Family
Friends
© Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

5. Groups Within Society
Secondary Groups: These groups are larger, more anonymous, more formal, and impersonal and are based on some interest or activity.
Larger, More Anonymous
Members Interact Based on Statuses
Fail to Satisfy Need for Intimate Association
© Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

6. Groups Within Society Voluntary Associations
Definition: A group made up of volunteers who organize on the basis of some mutual interest.
Combine features of primary and
secondary groups
Include national organizations such as girl and boy scouts, AA, NA, and local citizen and other groups (e.g. sports leagues)
© Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

7. Groups Within Society Iron Law of Oligarchy (Robert Michels)
How organizations come to be dominated by a small, self-perpetuating elite.
© Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

8. Groups Within Society
Clique: A cluster of people within a larger group who choose to interact with one another.
© Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

9. Groups Within Society In-Groups and Out-Groups
In-Groups: Groups toward which people feel loyalty.
Out-Groups: Groups toward which people feel antagonism.
Loyalty to In-Groups
Antagonism Towards Out-Groups
© Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

10. Groups Within Society Reference Groups
Definition: Group whose standards we refer to as we evaluate ourselves.
Evaluating ourselves
Expose us to contradictory standards
© Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

11. Groups Within Society Social Networks
Definition: The social ties radiating outward from the self that link people together
Interaction takes place within social networks that connect us to the larger society.
The Small World Phenomenon
Milgram his study led to the phrase “six degrees of separation”—meaning that, on average, everyone in the United States is separated by just six individuals.
© Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

12. FORMULA FOR DETERMINING TOTAL NUMBER OF DYADS
Groups Within Society
FORMULA FOR DETERMINING TOTAL NUMBER OF DYADS
N/2 (N – 1)
N = Total Number of Individuals
Estimate total number when N = 12
12/ (12 – 1)
6 x (11)
66 possible dyads
© Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

13. Bureaucracies
Definition: A formal organization with a hierarchy of authority and a clear division of labor; emphasis on impersonality of positions and written rules, communications, and records.
Rationalization of Society: Term coined by Weber to describe the process of how bureaucracies would increasingly dominate our lives.
© Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

14. Bureaucracies Five Characteristics of Bureaucracies Clear cut levels
Division of Labor
Written rules
Written communication and records
Impersonality
© Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

15. Dysfunctions of Bureaucracies
Peter Principle: The members of an organization are promoted for their accomplishments until they reach their level of incompetence; there they cease to be promoted, remaining at the level at which they can no longer do good work.
© Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

16. Group Dynamics Group size affects stability and intimacy
Dyad: Consists of two persons.
Triad: Consists of three persons.
Coalitions: Formed when two group members align themselves against one in a triad.
As size increases, so does stability
As size increases, intensity and intimacy decrease
© Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

17. Group Dynamics Effects of group size on attitudes and behavior
The larger the group…
Greater diffusion of responsibility
Increase in formality
Division into smaller groups
© Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

18. Leadership
Leader: Someone who influences the behaviors, opinions, or attitudes of others
Who becomes a leader?
Types of leaders
Instrumental: An individual who tries to keep the group moving toward its goals; also known as a task-oriented leader.
Expressive: An individual who increases harmony and minimizes conflict in a group; also known as a socioemotional leader.
© Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

19. Leadership Leadership Styles Leadership Styles in Changing Situations
Authoritarian: A leader who gives orders.
Democratic: An individual who leads by trying to reach a consensus.
Laissez-Faire: An individual who leads by being highly permissive.
Leadership Styles in Changing Situations
© Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

20. Group Dynamics Power of peer pressure Asch experiment
Study on conformity
Power of authority - Milgram experiment
Administering shocks; turning up voltage
Recent replications consistent with earlier
© Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

21. Asch’s Cards Figure 5.3 Asch’s Cards
© Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. 21

22. Milgram and Obedience
Stanley Milgram
( )
Ground-breaking research conducted at Yale in the 1950s
Participants acted as the teacher; the “learner” was a confederate
“Teacher” administered increasingly intense shocks as instructed by experimenter when learner gave wrong answer
65% of participants continued to the end of the experiment
© Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

23. Milgram and Obedience (continued)
Milgram’s research scenario
maximized obedience:
Participants were volunteers
Participants were alone with experimenter
Experimenter was highly credible authority figure
Setting was highly credible university
© Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

24. Group Dynamics
Groupthink: A narrowing of thought by a group of people, leading to the perception that there is only one correct answer, in which to even suggest alternatives becomes a sign of disloyalty.
© Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.