SOCIOLOGY

AND YOU
GROUPS AND FORMAL ORGANIZATIONS

Activity 1: Draw a Social Map

Directions:

Draw a social map of this

class period.

Include yourself.
Do not include your teacher.
Include all classmates.
Draw lines connecting you to those classmates
that are your friends.
Draw lines connecting those classmates that
you think are friends.
Use large lettering and clear lines.

SEC 1: PRIMARY & SECONDARY GROUPS

Main Idea

Groups are classified by how they develop

and function. Primary groups meet
emotional and support needs, while
secondary groups are task focused.
Primary group

Secondary group

SEC 1: PRIMARY & SECONDARY GROUPS

Group: at least two people who have one or

more goals in common and share common
ways of thinking and behaving
In regular contact with one another
Take one anothers behavior into account
Tend to draw lines around themselves,
creating insiders and outsiders. These
lines are known as boundaries.

SEC 1: PRIMARY & SECONDARY GROUPS

Social Category: people who share a social

characteristic
Examples: women, fathers, students, artists

Social Aggregate: People temporarily in the

same place at the same time
Examples: students in the lunch line, people at a
concert, contestants in a talent competition

SEC 1: PRIMARY & SECONDARY GROUPS

Primary Group: People who are emotionally close,

know one another well, and seek one anothers
company
Characterized by primary relationships
(interactions that are intimate, personal, and
fulfilling)
Conditions that favor development of primary
groups/relationships
Small size
Face-to-face contact
Continuous contact
Proper social environment

SEC 1: PRIMARY & SECONDARY GROUPS

Primary Group (continued)

Functions of primary
group
1. Emotional support
2. Socialization
3. Encourages
conformity

SEC 1: PRIMARY & SECONDARY GROUPS

Secondary Group: People who only share a part of

their lives while focusing on a goal or task

Secondary relationships: impersonal interactions

involving only limited parts of our personalities

-Secondary groups are about accomplishing a

task NOT about establishing friendship but they can
include some primary relationships.

Activity 2: Draw another Social Map

Directions: Draw a social map of your life.
Include yourself.
You may but are not required to include your teachers.
Include at least 19 other people.
Include at least one primary group. [label it!]
Include at least one secondary group. [label it!]
Draw lines connecting you to those people.
Use large lettering and clear lines.

SEC 2: OTHER GROUPS & NETWORKS

Main Idea

Reference groups help us evaluate ourselves

and form identities. In-groups and out-groups
divide people into we and they. Social
networks extend our contacts and let us
form links to many other people.

SEC 2: OTHER GROUPS & NETWORKS

Reference Group: group used for self-evaluation and the

formation of attitudes, values, beliefs and norms
Examples: families, teachers, classmates, political
groups, sports teams, bands
A person can consider a group to be a reference group
without being a member.
Reference groups are not necessarily positive (i.e.
gangs).

SEC 2: OTHER GROUPS & NETWORKS

In-group: exclusive group which demands intense

loyalty
Norms compel members to exclude others.
Out-group: a group targeted by an in-group for
opposition, antagonism, or competition
People get divided into we and they

SEC 2: OTHER GROUPS & NETWORKS

Group boundaries: allow the

in-group to tell who is in and
who is not in
In-groups and out-groups can
form in schools, athletics,
neighborhoods, or even
countries at war.
This is often a symbol like
clothes or slang or can be an
action like a handshake.
New members may be taught
the boundaries in an initiation
ceremony
Boundaries are maintained
by demanding intense loyalty
from group members

In-Group/Out-Group
Clarification
In-group is NOT the same as popular
group.
In group is the group that a person has an
affinity or closeness

Out-group is NOT the same as unpopular

group.
Out-group is the group that a person has a
disconnect with, often a negative bias

SEC 2: OTHER GROUPS & NETWORKS

Social Networks: a web of social relationships that join a

person to other people and groups
It includes groups, but is not a group in and of itself
Functions:
Provide a sense of purpose and belonging
Provide support in the form of advice or help
Useful for entering the job market
FRIENDS MOM

BROS BABYSITTER
& YOUR FRIENDS
FRIEND

MOMS FRIEND &

FUTURE BOSS

BABY BRO

MOM
YOU
DADS FRIENDS
FRIEND & YOUR
FRIENDS DAD

FRIEND
DADS FRIEND

DAD

DADS FRIEND &

FUTURE IN-LAW

SEC 3: (5) Types of Social Interaction

Main

Idea

Five types of social interaction are basic

to group life:
1.Cooperation
2. Conflict
3. Social exchange
4. Coercion
5. Conformity.

SEC 3: (5) Types of Social Interaction

Cooperation
Interaction in which individuals or groups
combine their efforts to reach a goal

Most likely to occur when reaching the goals

requires the best use of limited resources (like in

emergency situations)

The goal, may or may not, even benefit those

who are cooperating

SEC 3: (5) Types of Social Interaction

Conflict
Interaction aimed at defeating an opponent
Usually considered disruptive, but it can also
be socially beneficial
It may promote cooperation and unity within
opposing groups
It may draw attention to social inequalities and
cause a change in values, beliefs and norms

SEC 3: (5) Types of Social Interaction

Social Exchange
A voluntary
action is
performed in the
expectation of
getting a reward
in return
The exchange
relationship is
based on
reciprocity

SEC 3: (5) Types of Social Interaction

Coercion

Interaction in which individuals or groups

are forced to behave in a particular way
Central element of coercion is
DOMINATION
Physical imprisonment, torture
Social ridicule, rejection, ostracize

SEC 3: (5) Types of Social Interaction

Conformity
Behavior that matches group expectations
Most people do conform to group pressure
Groupthink: self-deceptive thinking that is
based on conformity to group beliefs and
created by group pressure to conform

SEC 4: Formal Organizations

A formal organization is a group created to
achieve one or more long-term goals
A bureaucracy is a formal organization based
on rationality and efficiency. Characteristics
include:

Division of labor based on specialization

Hierarchy of power
System of rules and procedures
Written records and activities
Promotions are based on merit and qualifications
Often seen as impersonal, but designed to protect
individuals from abuses

SEC 4: Formal Organizations

Primary relationships do form within formal

organizations

Informal organization: group within formal

organization in which relationships are
guided by norms, rituals or sentiments that
are not part of the formal organization

SEC 4: Formal Organizations

Iron Law of Oligarchy (Robert Michels, 1911)

Power increasingly becomes more

concentrated in the hands of fewer
individuals within the organization