Social Group

Man’s life is a group life to a large extent. If a person lives in society, he typically is also a
member of a number of groups.

Social group is the collection of individuals with common interest binding them. Group is
important for human beings to exist because no man can live in isolation. Man by nature is social
and he has certain needs for which he joins groups. He is not only a member of one but many
groups to fulfill his different wants or needs.

Groups are called social bricks; like bricks group build society.

A social group can be defined as two or more people who interact with one another, share
similar characteristics, and collectively have a sense of unity. 

A group becomes social when interaction interplays among its participants; social interaction is
its basic condition.

According to H.M. Johnson, ‘’Sociology is the science that deals with social groups’’.

MacIver & Page,’’ A group refers to any collection of human beings who are brought into social
relationships with one another and organize themselves for common ends.’’

Ogburn & Nimkoff – 'Whenever two or more individual come together and influence one
another, they may constitute a social group'.

Edward Sapir – "Any group is constituted by this fact that there is some interest which holds in,
members together. The essence of social group is not physical closeness but a consciousness of
joint – interaction".

Examples of groups include: families, group of classmates, circles of friends.

Characteristics/Elements of the group

1. For a group there is necessity of two or more people.

2. There should be reciprocal relationship among the members.
3. Common Goal, There must be some goals which has to be fulfilled. It means they have a
common interest for which they form a group.

Types of Group

Social group have following types:

 On the basis of contact

1. Primary Group
2. Secondary Group

 On the basis of Rules & Regulation

1. Formal Group
2. Informal Group

Primary Groups

The concept of the primary group was introduced by Charles Cooley, a sociologist from the
Chicago School of sociology, in his book Social Organization: A Study of the Larger
Mind (1909). 
In the words of C.H. Cooley “By primary groups I mean those characterized by intimate face to
face association and cooperation. “sympathy and mutual identification,” i.e., ‘we’ feeling. They
are primary, in several senses, but chiefly in that they are fundamental in framing the social
nature and ideal, of the individual”. Such groups in Cooley’s phrase are “the nursery of human
nature”.
These groups are primary because they are always “first” from the point of view of time and
importance. “It is the first and generally remains the chief focus of our social satisfactions”. 
Lundberg in his book "Sociology" – "Primary group means two or more person behaving in
relation to each other in a way that is intimate, cohesive and personal.
A primary group is typically a small social group whose members share close, personal, enduring
relationships. People joined in primary relationships spend a great deal of time together, engage
in a wide range of activities, and feel that they know one another well. In short, they show real
concern for one another.
In every society, the family is the most important primary group. Groups based on lasting
friendships are also primary groups.
Relationships formed in primary groups are often long lasting and goals in themselves. They also
are often psychologically comforting to the individuals involved and provide a source of support
and encouragement.
The goal of primary groups is actually the relationships themselves rather than achieving some
other purpose. 
Examples of Primary Group include: Families, Close friends.
Characteristics of a Primary Group:
Following are the important characteristics of primary group:

Smallness:

Primary groups are smaller in size. The smaller the size of the group, the greater will be the
intimacy among its members. Relationship can be intimate and personal only in a small group. It
is a fact that intimacy declines as the size of the group increases. The limited size of the group
facilitates the participation of all its members in its common activity. Better understanding and
fellow feeling among the members can be possible only when the group is small in size.

Durability:

Primary group is relatively, a permanent group. Intimacy between the members becomes deeper
because they meet frequently and are closely associated with one another.

Face-to-face interaction: Primary groups are characterized by close intimate and face to face
interaction.
Intimacy: Here everyone knows everyone else and there is strong intimacy among the members.
They are even known to nick names of their members.
Mutual Aid & Help: Mutual aid assistance among the members of the groups always found.
They cooperate with each other at the time of help.
We – Feeling: we – feeling (sense of unity and commonality) is found among the members of
the group. It means they live together as one body.
Physical proximity or nearness: face-to-face relation can be found only when members live in
a particular area more or less on permanent basis. Seeing and talking with each other makes
exchange of ideas and opinions easy. It makes possible the “conversation of gestures”.
Frequent Interaction: Interaction among members of the group is frequent and it can be many
times in a day.
Personal relation: In this, interest of each is centered in others as persons. They interact with
each other on the basis of personal relation.
Similarity of background: Members must have more or less similar background.
What are the Functions of Primary Groups in Society
 Personality Development of individual of society by establishing social nature & ideas.
 These Satisfy psychological needs of members of society like mental peace and security
etc.
 A source of motivation in pursuit of their members’ interest and objectives through
inspiration and cooperation and promoting efficiency
 An important source of informal social control of its members

Secondary Groups
Secondary groups are another type of social group. They have the opposite characteristics of
primary groups.
Secondary groups are large and impersonal social groups whose members pursue a specific
interest or activity.
Ogburn and Nimkoff defines secondary groups as groups which provide experience lacking in
intimacy.
Secondary relationships involve weak emotional ties and little personal knowledge of one
another.

This group is second in importance of life to the participants. He is first affected by the primary
group members and later by those in the secondary. Secondary groups are also called special-
interest group.
A university class, an athletic team, and workers in an office, class fellows, members of the same
political party all likely form secondary groups. Primary groups can form within secondary
groups as relationships become more personal and close.

Secondary Groups
An understanding of the modern industrial society requires an understanding of the secondary
groups. The social groups other than those of primary groups may be termed as secondary
groups. They are often called special interest groups. Secondary groups have become almost
inevitable today. Their appearance is mainly due to the growing cultural complexity. Primary
groups are found predominantly in societies where life is relatively simple. With the expansion
in population and territory of a society however interests become diversified and other types of
relationships which can be called secondary or impersonal become necessary. Interests become
differentiated. The services of experts are required. The new range of the interests demands a
complex organization. Especially selected persons act on behalf of all and hence arises a
hierarchy of officials called bureaucracy. These features characterize the rise of the modern state,
the great corporation, the factory, the labor union, a university or a nationwide political party and
so on. These are secondary groups.

Characteristics of secondary group:

The important characteristics of secondary groups are as follows:

Large size:
The size of the secondary group is large, because it is formed by a large number of people.
Secondary groups have spread all over the country. For example, a political party which is a
secondary group, consisting of thousands of members and work throughout the country.
Voluntary membership:
Membership in the case of secondary groups is mainly voluntary. Individuals are at liberty to
join or to go away from the groups. For example, one may join a political party or may not join
it.
No physical Proximity: Secondary groups are not characterized by physical proximity i.e. the
members in a secondary group do not live in the same place at the same time. Many secondary
groups are not limited to any definite area. There are some secondary groups like the Rotary
Club and Lions Club which are international in character. The members of such groups are
scattered over a vast area.

Specific ends or interest: Secondary groups are formed for the realization/fulfillment of some
specific interests or ends. They are called special interest groups. The members are not interested
in maintaining close and personal relations but they are only interested in the groups because
they have specific ends to aim at.

The relationship is a means to an end:

Secondary groups are goal oriented. So the relationship in secondary group is considered not an
end in itself but a means to an end. The members join secondary groups are the means to attain
the ends or objectives.
Indirect Relations/Communication:
In a secondary group all the members are indirectly related to each other, because secondary
group is bigger in size. Contacts and communications in secondary groups are mostly indirect.
Impersonal relations:
The relations among the members of secondary group are impersonal. The members do not have
face-to-face relations. Impersonal nature of social relationships in secondary groups is both the
cause and the effect of indirect communication. According to K. Davis, the relationship in
secondary groups is 'the touch and go variety. For example - In a political party the members are
scattered throughout the country.

Nature of group control: Informal means of social control are less effective in regulating the
relations of members. Formal means of social control such as law, legislation, police, court etc
are made of to control the behavior of members.

Limited influence on personality: Secondary groups are specialized in character. People

involvement in them is also of limited significance.Members's attachment to them is also very
much limited. Further people spend most of their time in primary groups than in secondary
groups. Hence secondary groups have very limited influence on the personality of the members.

Reference Groups
This group has developed recently, Hyman used it in 1942 in his book "Psychology of status".
Man a social being, belongs to many groups and wants to belong to some other groups for which
he tries to follow the rules and norms of that particular group so that he too may be identified as
a member of that group – this group is reference group. 
Sociologists call any group that individuals use as a standard for evaluating themselves and their
own behavior a reference group.
A group to which an individual or other group is compared.
 A reference group is a social group that serves as a point of reference in making evaluations and
decisions. The reference groups serve our role models and inspiration.

Reference groups act as a frame of reference to which people always refer to evaluate their
achievements, their role performance, aspirations and ambitions. 

Sherieff & Sheriff – "Reference group is the group to which an individual relates himself or
aspires to relate himself psychologically".

H.M. Johnson – "A reference group is based on the psychological association of a person or
group to other group".

The concept of a reference group is one of the most basic of sociology. Sociologists believe that
our relationship to groups and to society at large shapes our individual thoughts and behaviors.
How we relate to reference groups is central to how social groups and society exert social force
on us as individuals. By looking to reference groups--be they those of race, class, gender,
sexuality, religion, region, ethnicity, age, -- we see norms and dominant values, and we choose to
either embrace and reproduce them in our own thoughts, behavior, and interactions with others;
or, we reject and refute them by thinking and acting in ways that break from them.
Embracing the norms of a reference group and expressing them ourselves is how we achieve
important connections with others that lead to social acceptance--doing so is how we "fit in" and
achieve a sense of belonging. Conversely, those of us who either can't or choose not to embrace
and express the norms of reference groups that are expected of us might be seen as outcasts,
criminals, or in other cases, revolutionaries or trendsetters.
Reference group changes with time, situation etc. For a particular time you may have one
reference group and at another time you may not like that group and don't make it your reference
group.
Whether we are conscious of it or not, we are looking to multiple reference groups which shape
our thoughts and behavior on a daily basis.

 On the basis of Rules & Regulation

3. Formal Group
4. Informal Group

Formal Group

Formal is that group in which membership is defined. Those who fulfill the conditions can
become member to that group. The entry into the group is made under written rules and the
membership can be cancelled on violation of its rules and regulations. The students in a class, the
Union Council, the people enjoying a match on tickets are formal groups. United Nation
Organization (U.N.O), Punjab Professors and Lecturers Association (PPLA),Youth Club in a
mohalla are also formal groups.

Formal Groups: Groups that are formed consciously/deliberately by the management, with an

aim of serving an organizational objective. For example, committee, work teams, task force.

‘A formal group is a collection of persons, who came together for achieving a specified goal.
They are always created with intent to fulfill some official requirement. Formation of the group
is done by the management. It possesses a systematic structure, in hierarchical form’.
Informal Groups:

Informal is that group in which the membership is not defined. Any person can participate in
such a group and leave it when he likes. People watching television, listening to a speaker,
children playing in street, people gossiping and enjoying the feats of an acrobat on the roadside
are the examples of informal group.

The informal groups are formed by the individuals to satisfy their social needs of affiliation, and
they emerge on their own and hence not created by the management of the organization. Nobody
wants to live in isolation; people generally create a circle around themselves so that they can
interact and share their feelings, opinions, experiences, information, etc. These circles are known
as informal groups at the workplace. These groups are formed on the basis of common likes,
dislikes, prejudices, contacts, language, interests, attitudes of the members. It includes interest
group and friendship group.

Key Differences between Formal and Informal Groups

The following are the differences between formal and informal groups:

 The groups formed by the management of the organisation for accomplishing a specific
task are known as Formal Groups. The groups that are formed by the employees
themselves as per their likes and prejudices are known as Informal Groups.
 The formal groups are deliberately/purposely created by the organisation, whereas the
informal groups are established voluntarily.
 The formal groups are big in size as compared to an informal group. Moreover, there can
be sub-groups in a single formal group.
  The structure of a formal group is designed in a hierarchical manner while the informal
group lacks structure or say it has no structure.
 In a formal group, the position of a member defines its importance in the group, but in an
informal group, every member is as important as any other member.
 In a formal group, the relationship between the members is professional, they gather just
to accomplish the task allotted to them. On the other hand, in an informal group, there is a
personal relationship between members, they share their opinions, experiences, problems,
information with each other.
 In a formal group, the flow of communication is moved in a defined direction. In contrast
to an informal group, the flow of communication stretches in all directions; there is no
such restriction.

Conclusion
We generally enter into groups, without knowing that which kind of group is it? From the above
post, hope you have understood the differences between the two kinds of group. Sometimes the
members of formal groups and informal groups are same. The basic distinguishing feature
between the two is that formal groups are always formed with an objective, but when an informal
group is created, there is no such kind of intention at all.