Module II: Sociological Concepts

1.SOCIETY AND SOCIAL GROUPS-:

MEANING DEFINITIONS, TYPES
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 society is a group of individuals
involved in persistent social interaction,
or a large social group sharing the same
spatial or social territory, typically subject
to the same political authority and
dominant cultural expectations.
Societies are characterized by patterns
of relationships (social relations)
between individuals who share a
distinctive culture and institutions; a
given society may be described as the
sum total of such relationships among its
constituent of members.
August Comte believed that sociology could identify three major stages to the development of
global society.
1.Theological Stage-The first was the theological stage where people took a religious view of society.

2.Metaphysical Stage-The second was the metaphysical stage where people understood society as natural
rather than supernatural.

3.Scientific Stage - Comte’s final stage was the scientific or positivist stage, which he believed to be the
pinnacle of social development.

In the scientific stage, society would be governed by reliable knowledge and would be understood in light of
the knowledge produced by science

One of Comte’s central questions was how societies evolve and change, which is known as social dynamics.
He also studied the trends in society which do not change, which is known as social statics. Sociology today
draws on these categories, though few sociologists have continued on Comte’s theoretical work in this line.
 Meaning of Social Group….

Two or more persons in interaction constitute a social

group. It has common aim. In its strict sense, group is a
collection of people interacting together in an orderly way
on the basis of shared expectations about each other’s
behavior. As a result of this interaction, the members of a
group, feel a common sense of belonging.

MacIver and Page -“Any collection of human beings who

are brought into social relationship with one another.” is
social group.”

Examples-families, companies, circles of friends, peers,

neighbors, classmates, sororities, fraternities, and church
members. clubs, and local religious congregations etc.
 Two Approaches to understand Social Groups

∙ 1.The Social identity approach: Posits that the necessary and

sufficient condition for the formation of social groups is
awareness of a common category membership. Social
identity refers to the ways that people's self-concepts are based on
their membership in social groups. Examples include sports
teams, religions, nationalities, occupations, sexual orientation,
ethnic groups, and gender etc.

∙ 2.The Social cohesion approach: More than a simple

collection or aggregate of individuals, such as people waiting at
a bus stop, or people waiting in a line. It an act or state of
cohering, uniting, or sticking together. Social cohesion refers to
the nature and quality of the emotional bonds of friendship,
liking, caring, and closeness among group members. E.g family,
friends, clubs, classmates.
► In sociology and social psychology, an in-group is
a social group to which a person psychologically
identifies as being a member.
► By contrast, an out-group is a social group with
which an individual does not identify.
► For example, when two rival sports teams face off
in a game, the team you support is the ingroup,
while the other team is the outgroup.
► Sociologists use the term ‘reference group’
for such groups that individuals use as a
standard for evaluating themselves and their
own behaviour.
► Mustafa Sherif (1953) defined reference
groups as “those groups to which the
individual relates himself as a part or to which
he aspires to relate himself psychologically”.
► Robert K. Merton hypothesized that
individuals compare themselves with reference
groups of people who occupy the social role to
which the individual aspires.
► Social groups are considered to be an essential
part of humanity. They play big roles in our lives
because social groups are capable of giving a
meaning to a person 's life.
► Its already possible to speak of a social group
when humans interact with each other and
share similar characteristics.
► Social groups play an important role in daily life
and help humans make meaning of the world
around them.