1. 31st January 2018
Social Groups: Meaning, Characteristics, Classification and other details
Marco Bispo Nº 15 Mª Rita Balasteiro Nº 16 Sociology Teacher Leonor Alves 12º C
2. In life, an individual makes part of a lot of groups, some of them chosen by the
individual and some are chosen by their family on his birthday.
A society is composed by groups, a number of people involved in a pattern of
associations with others, for example a clique of friends, a political party or a sports
club.
These associations are the key to the human groups and they are created and kept
by the people that shares the same interests.
In this work we will explain you different types of social groups and the importance
that they have in our society.
We hope you enjoy it.
4. The Meaning of Social Groups
A social group is a set of formal, structured and continuous interactions between social
agents who play reciprocal roles, according to certain norms, interests and social values, in
order to achieve common goals.
Even though a group is number of individuals, not all of them are establish as a social
group, like people waiting on a line of a store. A group is distinct from a joint of members
that don’t collaborate with each others.
The consciousness of interaction may be present even there is no personal contact
between individuals. For example, if we were members a company, we would be part of the
structure of the company, but we wouldn't familiarized with all the members of the
company.
5. Characteristics of a Social Group
1.Mutual Awareness- The members of a social group must be mutually related
and this mutual connection differentiates one group from the other, making it
unique.
2.One or more Common Interests- The creation of a group begins and lives
based on common interests and the accomplishment that the members have
together.
3.Sense of Unity- The most natural feeling created by social groups is loyalty.
Every member of group needs to sense sympathy and feel that is listened to
belong in an association of people.
6. Characteristics of Social Groups
4. We-feeling-This characteristic refers to the ease of a person identifying with the group.
When they feel sympathy and loyalty in the group they belong to, the members
cooperate with each other.
5. Similarity of Behaviour- For the achievement of common interest, the members of a
group act in a very similar way. In a social group the method of behaviour between the
members in a group are more or less similar, depending on the individual.
6. Group Norms-Each group has its own ideals/norms and every members must follow
them. If someone in the group does not act according to the norms will be severely
punished. These norms can be both written and imposed through customs, traditions,
and laws.
8. Different sociologists have classified several groups in different ways. Social
groups are not only innumerable but also diverse. Since is not possible to
study all the groups a systematic study of groups needed a classification.
Various thinkers have chosen many criteria or bases to classify social groups
such as size, kind/contact, nature/interests, degree of organization and degree
of permanence. Most of this bases have received more attention than others,
but ,besides all the research, all groups can be classified into this categories:
9. Classification of Groups
1. Disjunctive and overlapping groups.
2. Territorial and non-territorial groups.
3. Homogenous and Heterogeneous groups.
4. Permanent and Transitory groups.
5. Contractual and non-contractual groups.
6. Open groups and closed groups
10. “The groups with which the individual identifies himself are his in-groups, his family
or tribe or sex or college or occupation or religion, by virtue of his awareness of
likeness or consciousness of kind”.
–William Graham Sumner
11. An in-group produce in the members the sense of acceptance which is the
basics of groups lifes. Those attitudes contains feeling of sympathy and
attachment to the other members,that demonstrate cooperation, goodwill,
mutual help and respect for the other’s rights.Ethnocentrism is a characteristic
of this groups because the group is the centre of an aggregate. It is a
presuppoted that the values/attitudes of an own group are preferable to
others.
An out-group is characterized by an individual with reference to his in-group.
He uses the word ‘they’ or ‘other’ in allusion to his out-group. Against the
members of an out-group ,the individual feels indifference, avoidance, disgust,
hostility, competition or outright conflict. The relationship of an individual to his
out-group is marked by a sense of remoteness or detachment and sometimes
even of hostility.
12. Primary Groups
✤ The primary groups are the most restricted groups and are
typically small-scale. It includes intimate relationships and
are more enduring because the members of a primary
group feel a strong personal identity with the group.
✤ A family is considered the principal primary group by some
sociologists, but there are more exemples such as a
small group of intimate friends, where relationships are
narrow and more enduring than others.
✤ The term "primary" is used with these groups as the
primary source of relationships and socialization. In the
primary groups we receive feelings like love, security,
support and learn values inserted in our society from
family and friends.
13. Secondary Groups
✤ Undoubtedly, secondary groups are of great
importance in modern industrial society. Their
appearance is mainly due to increasing cultural
complexity. Secondary groups are characterized
by impersonal relationships as in a company
✤ For example, some of these secondary groups can
be a city, a political party, a company etc.
✤ These groups have no direct influence on the
members, and also in these groups the human
contact is superficial, undefined and mechanical.
