GROUPS

Any physical collection of the people (Nothing

except physical closeness)

A number of people who share some common

characteristics (College graduates, Lawyers,
Physician, Smokers)

groups are the collectiveness of the people who

interact and form social relationships
Any number of people who share some organized
pattern of recurrent interaction (This would exclude all
casual momentary meetings of the people)

Any number of people who share consciousness of

membership together and of interaction
• Many groups meet rarely but interact by telephone,
letters and magazines
• The essence of any social group is not physical
closeness but consciousness of interaction
 IMPORTANCE OF GROUPS

Socialization
Peer Pressure
Group solidarity
Functionalist Assumption
Conflictive Assumption
Interactionist Assumption
• IN GROUPS AND OUT GROUPS and their
overlapping
• SOCIAL DISTANCE: Degree of closeness or
acceptance we feel towards other groups
 CLASSIFICATION OF GROUPS

TRANSITORY GROUP:
• Several people at same place at same time
• Who may or may not meet again
• Interaction is minimal
• e.g. People crossing the street or people in the same
elevator
RECURRENT GROUP:
• They meet regularly e.g. Hockey Team, Cricket Team
• Rules and regulations
• Scheduled meetings
• Official roles are assigned
to the members
• Official Membership
• Clubs/Classes
• Lack the formality of the
formal groups
• May be unwritten rules
• Group of friends

FORMAL INFORMAL
GROUPS: GROUP:
• INGROUP:
– To which an individual belongs and feels
emotional attachment

• OUT GROUP:
– The group to which individual does not belong and
feels competition and haterdness
PRIMARY GROUPS SECONDARY GROUPS

EMOTIONAL INTENSITY Little emotions felt among the members

Strong emotional attachment among
members

SCOPE: Only a small piece of individual’s personality

An individual’s entire personality is is involved
important to the group

PARTICULARISM AND UNIVERSALISM: Membership is open to the all

Each individual is important to the group
and the group is particular who can be the
member of the group

INTERACTION: Formal rules exist to explain how and when

Very informal members feel relaxed around interaction takes place
one another

GOAL: The group meets for specific reasons.

Simply to enjoy one another’s company Members have little common beyond the
reason for group’s existence
PRIMARY GROUPS SECONDARY GROUPS

RULES AND REGULATIONS: Formal Rules

Rules may be understood rather than Each member must follow the same rules
written down Punishment are applied in the same
Very Flexible manner
Punishment for breaking them are also
flexible

Informal, Intimate, Personal, Total Social contacts are formal, impersonal,

relationship is involved utilitarian, segmental
Life experiences are involved The major objective is to get the work
Members are interested in each other as done
persons They are goal oriented
Share experience and gossips
Fill the need for intimate social
relationships
Personal qualities are important
They are judged by their human
relationships
• THE SECONDARY GROUP TRENDS
– Nation states, association of employer and employee. Giant
Corporations,
– Industrialized and Urbanized Societies
– Transfer and postings
– Relocation of factories

• PERSISTENCE OF PRIMARY GROUPS

– Primary group within the secondary group concept

• REFERENCE GROUPS:
 STEREOTYPES
• A group shared image of another group or
category of people
• It may be positive or negative
• Applied indiscriminately to all members of the
stereotyped groups
• But they are always exaggerated and
universalize some of the characteristics of
some of the people
 PROCESS OF STEREOTYPING

– Selective Perception
– Selective Interpretation
– Selective Identification
– Selective exception
• CHARCTERISTICS OF THE STEREOTYPES:
– Treat all members of the group in terms of stereotypes
– Interact initially at least with the stereotype, rather
than with the true person
– Affect the behaviour of those who are stereotyped