SOCIAL GROUPS

The presence of social groupings in any society is unavoidable. People often group themselves in many different occasions and
circumstances.

There are two principal reasons why men tend to group themselves.
1. because of gregariousness
2. because of necessity

 Gregariousness is the tendency of men to be in company of other men.

 Necessity forces men to group themselves to do things which one man alone cannot do.

TWO GENERAL TYPES OF GROUPS

There are two general types of groups as far as joining a group is concerned:
1. Involuntary groups
2. Voluntary groups

 Involuntary Groups are those groups into which the members are born. The members have no other choice but to be
members of the group they are born into whether they like it or not.

Among the involuntary groups are the following:

 Family
 Neighborhood
 Barangay or barrio
 Town or municipality
 Province
 Region
 Nation

 Voluntary Groups – the individual can choose the group to which he wants to belong.

There are several kinds of voluntary groups. Some of these are the following:
 Peer group
 Idolized group
 We-and-they group
 Formal voluntary association

1. Peer group has two connotations. One refers to age level peer group and the other to the professional
peer group.
 An age level peer group is composed of young boys and girls or young men and young women of the same sex and the
same age or about the same age.
 A professional peer group is composed of persons of the same profession or work.

 The peer group is further subdivided into the play group, gang, and clique.

a. The play group is the most common peer group. These groups are usually composed of children living in the same
neighborhood.

b. Gang
 Usually, young people start forming their gangs at the teenage period but membership in a gang may continue until
adulthood.
 The local term for gang is barkada.
 Some gangs are notoriously antisocial. They thrive on conflicts. They love creating trouble, fighting, gambling, and other
antisocial activities.

c. The Clique
 A smaller peer group within a bigger peer group.
 A few members of group may have the same feeling or attitude towards a certain issue, a common sentiment, a common
sympathy and understanding, or a common grievance.
 They come together to form a group but not separating from their original group.

2. Idolized Group
 This is simply a group of professionals whom an individual idolizes.
 For instance, if an individual admires lawyers, he tries to observe how lawyers behave in courtroom and in social circles. He
tries to conform to the behavior, attitudes, and values of lawyers and aspires to be one. He now works toward that end, to
be a member of the lawyer’s group.
3. The we-group and the they-group

a. The We-group
 This is termed by other sources as in-group.
 This is a group where one feels he belongs to.
 Those belonging to this group have a feeling of solidarity or oneness, camaraderie, sympathetic
attitude, protectiveness, and loyalty towards the other members.
 A slur or harm on one is also considered done to the other members.
 They know each other usually and enjoy doing things together.

b. The they-group
 This is called an out-group by other sources.
 This is a group toward which one has a feeling of indifference, strangeness, avoidance, dislike, antagonism, and even
hatred.
4. Formal Voluntary Associations
The kinds or types of formal voluntary associations are the following:
 Recreation groups
 Social service groups
 Ideology or political action groups
 Professional groups
 Fraternity groups
 Religious or Church groups
 The activist groups
 The union groups
 The syndicate

a. Recreation groups
Those interested in recreational activities form themselves into associations to give fuller fulfillment of their desire for recreation
b. Social service groups
Those who have a soft heart for the underprivileged, disadvantaged, and handicapped form themselves into groups to be able to
render better service to those who are in need. The Red Cross is a good example of this group.
c. Ideology or political action groups
Those who have the same belief or idea in some kind of governmental structure or administration form themselves into groups
and work as a team for their ideological goals.
d. Professional groups
Professionals form themselves into associations for the purpose of enhancing and improving their professional knowledge and
skills.
e. Fraternity groups
The main purpose of fraternities is to promote brotherhood among the members. Sororities are for women while fraternities
are for men.
f. Religious or Church groups
People who have the same religious beliefs and practices group themselves and form a church.
g. The activist groups
People who feel deprived of certain rights and privileges group themselves and stage rallies and marches and make demands that
are sometimes impossible to grant.
h. The union groups
It is now common practice that workers in factories and other establishments and even in the government forge themselves into
union to enable them to have stronger bargaining power.
i. The syndicates
 Groups that are organized purposely to commit criminal acts to enable the members to get what they want.
 Syndicates engage in many illegal activities such as kidnap-for-ransom, bank robberies, smuggling, drug trafficking, illegal
gambling, raping, killing, graft and corruption.

GENERAL FUNCTIONS AND ADVANTAGES OF SOCIAL GROUPS

 Education
 Protection
 Perpetuation of the race
 Social control
 Ideology
 Redress of grievances
 Charity
 Recreation
 Religion
 Expression of talents
 Professional enhancement
 Purely social interaction

Prepared by:
MARIA MARISSA B. DEL PILAR
MAEd-Educ.Mngt.I