Dr. Salwa Marwad

1. Groups

2.  We defined Sociology as the scientific study of
people in group relationship. Group relationships are
the building blocks of sociology.
 Human behavior is not random; it is patterned it is
patterned.
( Imagine what would happen, if we were to take a
person from any one of these places and put him/her
in another society).
 Groups are among the most stable and enduring of
social units. They are important both to their
members and to the society at large.
 Through encouraging regular and predictable
behavior, groups form the foundation upon which
society rests. Thus, a family, a village, a political
party a trade union is all social groups

3. Group:
 Two or more individuals that come into personal
and meaningful contact on a continuous basis.
 Group refers to two or more persons who shares
a common interest and come together to achieve
common goals and objectives.
 any collection of at least two people who interact
with some frequency and who share a sense that
their identity is somehow aligned with the group

4. Classification
A group is:
1- composed of people
2- In interaction
3- Together physically
4- With common interests or goals.
Category:
A category is a number of individuals who share one or more
characteristics such as age or occupation but who are not in
interaction with each other.
An Aggregate:
 An Aggregate is a number of individuals held together in a
physical sense, but not interacting with each other.

5. SOCIAL GROUP
A social group is a number of individuals interacting
with each other with respect to:
Common motives and goals;
An accepted division of labor, i.e. roles,
Established status relationships;
Accepted norms and values with reference to
matters relevant to the group;
Development of accepted sanctions
Groups are among the most stable and enduring of
social units. They are important both to their members
and to the society at large

6. Primary Groups Secondary Groups
1-They are small in size.
“Less than 20 or 30 persons”.
1-They are large in size.
2-Personal and intimate relationship exist
among the member.
2-Impersonal and aloof relationship exist
among the members.
3-Much face-to-face communication takes
place.
3-Little face-to-face communication takes
place.
4-They have great permanency: Members
are together over a long period of time. 4-They are temporary : members spend
relatively little time together.
5-Members are well acquainted and have
a strong sense of loyalty or "We –feeling"
strong group pressure is present.
5-Members are well acquainted and
anonymity is prevalent.
6-Informality is more common ; The
group usually does not have a name office
or regular meeting place.
6-Formality prevails : the group often has a
name , offices, and regular Meeting place.
7-Group discussion are more traditional
and personally centered.
7-group decisions are more rational and goal
directed and the emphasis is on efficiency.

7. Continuum
 Groups may be compared on a primary – secondary group
continuum.
 A continuum may be marked off in units or degrees like a
ruler or scale. It is useful for comparisons.
 The location of specific group determined on the basis of
its characteristics as its sizes and the type of relationship.
 Primary groups are generally more common in rural than
in urban areas
 As societies became more urbanized, there is a
corresponding change from primary to secondary groups

8. Importance of primary group
 The general trend in most societies today is toward
increasing numbers of secondary groups. Primary
groups have not lost their importance.
 Sociologist have generally found the primary group
to be very important in determining the productivity
of farms.
 The primary group also motivates troops in combat
situations.

9. Group influence
 An important way in which individuals accept or
resist change is through group influence or group
pressures.
 Group pressure may operate to encourage
individuals to adopt good or deviant behavior
( use of drugs).
 Secondary groups lack strong group influence.

10. Primary groups within secondary
groups
 While the larger secondary group ( factory, big
farms) may have formally established goals and
procedures, it is often within the primary group that
these goals and procedures are carried out or
modified.
 Some large organizations make important use of
primary groups within their structure.

11. Group Cohesiveness
– Cohesiveness refers to the degree
and strength of interpersonal
attraction among members of the
group. High degree of cohesion is
highly motivating in achieving the
group goals.

12. Group Cohesiveness
–Group cohesiveness:
measures the loyalty to the group by
its members.
Level of Participation: as cohesiveness
rises, so will participation.
Level of Conformity: as conformity
rises, so does cohesiveness.
Level of Group Goal Accomplishment:
as cohesiveness rises, the emphasis on
group accomplishment will rise.

13. Cohesiveness
– Determinates of cohesiveness: can be altered to
change cohesiveness levels in a group.
 Group Size: small groups allow high cohesiveness.
– Low cohesiveness groups with many members can benefit from
splitting into two groups.
 Managed Diversity: Diverse groups often come up with better
solutions.
 Group Identity: When cohesiveness is low, encourage a
group to adopt a unique identity and engage in healthy
competition with others.
 Success: cohesiveness increases with success.
– Look for a way for a group to find some small success.

14. Factors that influence cohesion
Common Goals
Success Experience
Size
Interpersonal Attraction
External Threat
Cooperation

15. Group Cohesiveness
Group
Size
Group
Size
Managed
Diversity
Managed
Diversity
Group
Identity
Group
Identity
SuccessSuccess
Group
Cohesiveness
Group
Cohesiveness
Level of
Conformity to
norms
Level of
Conformity to
norms
Level of
Participation
in group
Level of
Participation
in group
Emphasis
on goals
accomplished
Emphasis
on goals
accomplished

16. Reference groups
 Are any groups ( both primary or secondary) that a person takes
into account when evaluating his/her actions or characteristics. It
Can be used to make comparative evaluations about oneself and
one's performance.
 Although individuals often use groups of which they are
members as reference groups, a person does not necessarily
have to be a member of a group in order to use it as a reference
group.
 Religion group membership often provides an important
reference group that has a profound influence on individual
behavior.
 A person have a number of reference groups and these groups
will change over time.

17. Formal Groups
 are formed deliberately and
consciously collectively to direct
the efforts of group members
towards the accomplishment of
objectives.

18. Informal Groups
Small number of individuals that
frequently participate together in
activities and are more connected to
each other than to non-members
– Share values, feelings, interests
– Provides satisfaction of personal needs,
mutual support

19. Informal groups
Informal groups are small primary groups that are based on friendship and mutual interest as families,
friends, neighbor, relatives, work associates.
These informal groups do not have anyof the trappings of a formal associations.
Rural sociologists have found that informal groups are a very important influence in convincing farmers
to adopt new agricultural ideas.
Informal groups may be classified on the basis of attraction for members.
Locality group : members live near each other

20. Informal groups
 Friendship or clique group : cliques are
informal groups in which the basis of
membership is common interest or
friendship. Cliques are very tight-knit and
have a very strong primary group
feelings.
 clique group ( is a group by which the
members have the same line of thinking
as well as interest).
 The Peer Group is a group by which the
members are almost in the same age as
well as social and economic status.

21. Voluntary Associations
 These are formal groups that usually have a
name or title, a written purpose, constitution,
bylaws, or charter, and a regular common
meeting time and place.
 The members tend to join together because
of their common needs, decisions, aims or
goal.