Without giving
it much thought, most of us feel relaxed using the term "group." It
may be a common term in daily usage, although it holds major health and science
implications. In comparison, a group's definition is fundamental too much of
the way we learn of culture and human activity. We communicate with each other,
belonging to a group of some kind, in our everyday lives and social events.
Group analysis is central to every sociological review.
Definition of Social Group
In sociology,
the word group has a special meaning because it reflects a notion which is
fundamental to every sociological study. The word group has been given quite a
few meanings by various sociologists. In general, a social group is challenged
as a group or series of persons that participate in social experiences and
relationships that are more or less lasting or enduring. Social group
participants have a mutual foundation for contact and shared traits, a sense of
identity or belonging, shared psychology or awareness, and a certain set of
criteria that guide the actions of the individual person in the group.
Basic Features of a Social Group
Sociologists
have established several basic features of a social group in their sociological
study of human society's group behavior. It must have the following basic
characteristics or characteristics for a collection or class of persons to be a
social group.
- Group participants continue to communicate with one another;
- Membership means living by expectations that are Specific to the group;
- Members are functionally embedded in the group system by position and status relations;
- As part of the party, participants see each other;
- Members have a sense of connection with the Group and with each other; and there is a social history
- Boundaries between non-members and members; and
- Others see a group of members.
Social
contact is relatively permanent among the members; it is not causal. As a
framework for engagement, shared interests should be characterized. Shared
ideals, opinions and lifestyles exist. Also significant is the mental, mutual
consciousness. The sense of belonging is quite important. Social expectations
and beliefs control group members' actions.
Classification of Social Groups
Sociologists
have categorized groups into two central divisions, respectively, primary and
secondary groups. The primary and secondary grouping of groups is primarily focused
on: (a) the nature of the relationship between or between the members of the
group and (b) the degree of group identity. For starters, people usually are
more committed to their families and close friends than to the firms they work
for.
Primary Groups and Their Main Features
The first
sociologist to use the term primary groups to describe groups such as family,
community and children's play groups was Charles H. Cooley. These classes
became the “nursery of human nature’’ where it was possible to understand the
basic sense of human group solidarity and respect for others. Any of the
following features distinguish main groups:
- There is face-to-face interaction among members;
- There is high sentiment or loyalty.
- Identification (group identity) and close cooperation among members;
- There is a high level of emotional, spiritual satisfaction to be derived from involvement in primary social groups;
- Concern for friendly relations as an end in themselves, not as a means to an end;
- Primary groups are often small in size;
- Primary group gives its members (individuals) their ''first acquaintance with humanity'';
Primary
groups, for a child, are a school for learning the ways of human interaction
and the give and take of working and playing together.
Secondary Groups and Their Main Features
The more
organized forms of groups to which populations belong are secondary groups. The
Federal Army, Lion's Club, Ethiopian Commercial Bank, etc., are secondary
categories, to begin with obviously conclusive examples. As associations,
secondary organizations do not offer the sense of close identification that
primary entities give to individuals. Significant effort must be taken to make
people proud of the organization for which they work, and if it is at all done,
this sort of pride is not the main community emotion. In a fantastic
organization, one can always be lost; there is not the same feeling of
psychological stability. Main features of secondary social groups include:
- There is little or no emotional involvement;
- Members are more competitive than cooperative;
- Members are less intimate;
- Group identity is less relevant;
- Economic efficiency is given higher emphasis than psychological identity;
- The group is mainly a means to an end rather than an end in itself;
- Membership is unlimited.
In other
words, it should not be seen as a type of dichotomy to divide social classes
into primary and secondary groups. Rather, it should be viewed as a continuum,
i.e. there might be crystallized main and secondary groups at the two extreme
ends, and mixtures of the two forms occur between the two poles.
Quasi-Social Groups
Quasi-groups
are those kinds of social groupings which lack social groups' basic
characteristics. There can be no practical integration of participants of this
sort of grouping. There are few or no social interactions which are organized
and patterned. In new, technological and complex cultures, this sort of social
contact is normal. It is more prominent in heterogeneous urban environments.
They describe communities that are individualistic. These communities lack
substantial hierarchical networks and social contact with each other. Two kinds
of quasi classes exist:
- Aggregates
- Categories
Aggregates:
A social
aggregate is a quasi-social grouping in which two or more persons at a given
time and location are physically together. Without experiencing social contact,
there is physical proximity. There is no psychological-identity that is
transmitted. A real social community may, therefore, arise from this form of
grouping. Two or more people in a car, bus, aircraft, an elevator, a crowded
city highway, a restaurant, an arena, a store, a hospital ward, etc. are
examples of an aggregate
Anonymity
normally characterizes aggregates in the center of crowd activity. The dilemma
of feeling isolated, dehumanized, feeling confused, depression, social tension
and other psychosocial conditions can contribute to this disorder. Suicide is
more common in urban than rural areas, and in communities marked by anonymity,
individualism, and heterogeneity, mental disease is more enhanced.
Categories:
This is a
quasi-group of individuals that are geographically dispersed, but who have
shared characteristics and preferences, comprising of a majority or
collectively. It applies to a social class, or a group of persons with more or
less similar lifestyles and physical and psychosocial attributes. There may be
little or no social contact, social order, social expectations, etc., but even
if people may never meet each other, there is a sense of belonging. A
meaningful social grouping may evolve out of a category, however, gradually.
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SocialInstitution - Forms, Functions and Characteristics of Social Institutions
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