Social Groups

    Social groups - the meaning, characteristics, classification                                                  and other details

The meaning

    When two or more persons are in interaction, they constitute a social group. It’s considered a social group when the persons on the group have the same interest and they share reciprocal relations, for example, at school and with family.

  These men, who had influence in the American Sociology, say: “A group is an aggregate of individuals which persist in time, which has one or more interests and activities in common and which is organised.” (Green); “A number of persons, two or more who have common objects of attention, who are stimulating to each other, who have common loyalty and participate in related activities are called as group.” (Bogardus)

Characteristics

•  Reciprocal relations – the persons on the group must be related to each other. A small gathering of people can’t form a group;
•  Common interests – on a group, the interests and ideals are common;
•  We-feeling – usually, the members use the word “we” feeling among them and they treat each other as friends. “We-feeling” is related to sympathy and loyalty;
•   Sense of unity – to develop a feeling or sense of belongingness it’s necessary to have sense of unity;
•   Group norms – each and every group has its own rules and norms. The members are supposed to follow these;
•   Similarity of behaviour – on a group, the interests and values are common so the people behave in more or less similiar way.

Classification

    Primary group – it consists on small groups with intimal relations (ex: family) and they established direct or indirect contact with one another. Direct contact is, usually, “face to face” because the persons ask for mutual help and discuss common question. Indirect contact is when we talk, via e-mail, with a family member, who is in another country.

  Secondary group – it consists on big groups, who have just formal and institucional relations. Some of them can last years but frequently they disappear after a short time. The intimacy within the group is lower than that in primary. The examples of secundary groups include a city, nation, corporation...

   Reference group – this group may not be an actual group, it may be an imaginary one. A reference group is one where we don’t have to belong directly but with which we identify ourselves or we would like to belong.

lições/sessions 61 e 62 - 2018 - 01-25

sumário/summary: exercícios das páginas 108 e 109 - papeis sociais e estauto social.

Social Groups: The meaning, Characteristics, Classification and Other details.

Social Groups: The meaning, Characteristics, Classification and Other details.

1) The Meaning Of Social Groups:

A social group, in the social sciences, is defined as two or more people who interact with another. They share similar characteristics in a sense of unity. 

2) Characteristics:

• Interaction: A research by Bales, says that are two types of interactions, relationship interactions, that are actions perfomed by group members that have a relation or ways of influence the emotional and interpesonal bonds; and task interactions, that mean actions perfomed by a group members that pertain to group projects. 
• Goals: The research says that all the groups have a reason of existence, for exemple, emotional suporting or even religion motives. So the groups are organized by their goals and their taks. 
• Interdependence in relation: This characteristic means that in a social group, the interdepedence are perfectly normal and can be mutual, as for exemple, in a sports team we see a high level of interdependence. 
• Structure: This involve the emergence or regularities, norms, roles and relations that form the group. This is a very important part of a social group.
• Unity: We know that when people speak of groups, speak of the group as a whole rather than speaking of in a individual ones       

3) Classifications:

• Primary Group: Is a small group whose is members share is personal and lasting relationships. They show real concern, or preocupation for one another, we have the most important primary group which is family. 
• Secondary Groups: They are larger groups involving formal and institucional relationships, that envolves weak emotional ties and little personal knowledge or one another. This type of group may during for a long time or disband after a short time. 

4) Other Details - Reference groups

Individuals almost ever haver a bond that sociologist cal reference groups. Refence groups is a group to which a person or another group is compared. This means that the reference groups is a standard ofr evaluating themselves and their own behavior. So is the group which the individual relates or aspires to relate himself or herself psichologically. 

lições/sessions 59 e 60- 2018-01-23

sumário/summary : grupos primários e grupos secundários

lições/sessions 57 e 58 - 2018-01-18

sumário/summary : papeis sociais e estatuto social



social roles and social status

Social groups

Meaning:

    A social group is defined by two or more people who interact with one another, share equivalent characteristics and collectively have the spirit of unity.

Characteristics:

• Interaction, such as relationship interaction (social support) and task interaction (action executed by group members).
• Goals, because it’s easier to accomplish a goal as a group by the increasing of focus on a single goal.
• Interdependence, that can be mutual (flowing back and forth between members) or more linear/unilateral.
• Structure, that involves the need of regularities, norms and roles to form a group. If people fail to accomplish their expectations or fulfil their roles, they may not accept the group, or be accepted by other group members.
• Unity, a group is better than the total of its individual parts. A group is never speaked by its individualities, but always by a whole.

                

Classification:

    Primary group- a small social group whose members share personal and lasting relationships, showing real concern between them. As example, the family is the most important primary group. Lasting friendships are in primary group too.
    Secondary group- large groups involving formal relationships involving weak emotional ties and almost none personal knowledge of each other. Most secondary groups are short term.
    Intermediate group- complementarity between primary and secondary group, like school.

Social Groups

Meaning of Social Groups:
A social group consists in an interaction with two or more people. As a result of this interaction, the members of a group feel a common sense of belonging (belonging groups). They are bound by a sense of unity. Their interest is common and their behavior is similar. They are bound by the common consciousness of interaction. Viewed in this way, a family, a village, a nation, a political party or a trade union is a social group.

The essence of the social group is not physical closeness or contact between the individuals but a consciousness of joint interaction. This consciousness of interaction may be present even there is no personal contact between individuals. For example, we are members of a national group and think ourselves as nationals even though we are acquainted with only few people.

Characteristics of Social Groups:
  - Mutual Awareness: a more aggregate of individuals cannot constitute a social group unless reciprocal awareness among them.
  - One or more Common Interests: groups are mostly formed for the fulfillment of certain interests.
  - Similarity of Behaviour: for the fulfillment of common interest, the members of a group behave in a similar way.
  - Group Norms: every group has its own ideals and norms and the members are supposed to follow these.
  - We-feeling: tendency on the part of the members to identify themselves with the group.

Classification of Groups:
There are several examples of different classifications of social groups:
  - Dwight Sanderson has classified groups into three types on the bases of structure such as involuntary, voluntary and delegate groups. An involuntary group is that to which man has no choice, which is based on kinship such as the family, tribe or clan. A voluntary group is one which a man joins of his volition or wishes. A delegate group is one to which a man joins as a representative of a number of people either elected or nominated by them. Parliament or Assembly is a delegate group;
  - Sorokin, an American sociologist, has divided groups into two major types – the vertical and the horizontal. The vertical group includes persons of different strata or statuses. But the horizontal group includes persons of the same status. A nation, for instance, is a vertical group, while a class represents horizontal grouping.

Social Groups: The Meaning, Characteristics, Classification and other details

•    The Meaning of Social Groups

  Social groups are groups that have two or more individuals that share the same values on different topics. It can be as small as a pair of two friends and as large as a society. The defining factor is that both share a sense of unity and common identity.

•     Characteristics:

  They can be, for example, the time groups spend together and know each other, the share of similar values and likings, the acceptance of norms and values within said group (I.E: In our society, an example of this is the way we dress; If we dress ourselves like an Emo or a Gothic person, we can be seen as depressed and unhelpful to our society).

•     Classification:

As it is written on our Sociology book, groups can be classified into three different ways:  

1.   The belonging of an individual in a certain group;

2.    It’s social function;

3.    And the type of connection inside the group;

  The first one can be divided into two sub-groups (the belonging and the reference groups); the group where we belong can be, for example, our family and our class (as in school class). And the reference group can be groups we would like to belong to, for example, as high-school students our reference group are the university students.

 The second topic, social function, can be subdivided into many other groups that are related with our position in our society. An example of this could be our religion or our political ideology.

  The last topic, in similarity with the first one, can be divided in two sub-groups: The primary and the secondary group. The primary group can be, for example, someone who is closer to us, be it in chronological and in an emotional way. A very good example of this is our family.

  The secondary group, in contrast with the primary group, can be someone who doesn't really have any type of feelings or bond. It can be impersonal, cold and formal. We normally associate this group with someone that is superior to us, I.E: Our boss or teacher.

• Other details:

   We don´t really have any "other details" to share, except one thing: Be yourself. It doesn't matter in what type of group you're in, just be you. You're unique in every way possible, and our society surely doesn't need two of the same person.

  And with this we finish our work.

   

lições/sessions 55 e 56 - 2018-01-16

sumário/summary : Grupos sociais -trabalho de grupo

lições/sessions 53 e 54 -2018-01-11

sumário/summary : Interação social

↬Social Groups↫

The meaning of Social Group:

➤It’s a group of formal, structured and continuous interactions between social agents that are bound by the same interests, activities and behavior, sharing common understanding. On these groups, everyone has their own position/status, derived from different functions. A family, a village, a nation, a political party or a trade union, are examples of social groups.

Characteristics of Social Groups:

➤Each group has an objective and functional structure, where all the members are organized according to:

1.      Mutual Awareness- Between the members of a social group there must be a mutuality and reciprocal relationship.

 

2.      One or more common interests- To start and proceed an ideal social group its essential to exist common interests.

 

3.      Sense of unity- In each social group there are vital factors that must exist, more specifically a sense of belongingness, loyalty and affection.

 

4.      We-feeling- The members of a social group share the same interests, which they defend as an unity.

 

5.      Similarity of Behavior- To accomplish a we-feeling, it’s important that the social group in question, share collective manners.

 

6.      Group Norms- The members should always follow a group of rules and norms; otherwise they will be punished.

  Classification of Social Groups:

➤Social Groups can be classified according to the structure (social rule; relationship between members and sense of belonging that an individual has in a group) or non-structure (social aggregates or categories).

1.      Social Rule: It refers to the following groups: family (socialization work); business (productive function); political (construction of the social model), religious (spiritual mission); recreative (cultural and sportive activities); etc.

 

2.      Relationship between members: It’s divided in primary groups (there is face-to-face and close relationship among the members and affective terms, so there is an informal relationship, for example the family), and secondary groups (it has the effectiveness and success as a finality, using formal and impersonal relationship, for example monopolies, military organizations or workers).

3.      Sense of belonging that an individual has in a group: It can be distinguished in ingroup (the individual inserts himself in it, for example family, college, occupation); outgroup (the individual does not belong in it and it’s adverse) and reference group (the individual wants be included in it, because its values constitute an evaluation model that he wants to acquire and interiorize through socialization).

And Other Details:

➤More Classifications: 

      1.   Involuntary, voluntary and delegate groups: involuntary group (when a person has no choice, based on relationship such as the family), voluntary group (when a person joins according to his will), delegate group (when a person joins as a representative of a number of people either elected or nominated by them such as parliament or assembly).

Lições/sessions 51 e 52 - 2018-01-09

Sumário/Summary : Trabalho de grupo

Social Groups: The Meaning, Characteristics, Classification and other details 

lições/sessions 49 e 50 - 2018-1-04

Sumário : summary : Exercicios socializaç~
ao ; páginas 78, 82 e 83 -

lições/sessions 47 e 48 - 2017-14-12

Sumário/summary
Avaliação do 1º período