Groups, Categories, and Aggregates

• A group is composed of people who share

several features, including the following:
– They are in regular contact with one
another.
– They share some ways of thinking,
feeling and behaving.
Groups, Categories, and Aggregates
(cont.)

– They take one another’s behavior into

account.
– They have one or more interests or
goals in common.
Groups, Categories, and Aggregates
(cont.)

• A social category is composed of people

who share a social characteristic.
• A social aggregate is composed of
people who happen to be in the same
place at the same time.
Primary Groups
• A primary group is composed of people
who are emotionally close, know one
another well, and seek one another’s
company.
• Primary relationships are intimate,
personal, caring and fulfilling.
Primary Groups (cont.)
• Conditions needed for a primary group:
– Small size
– Face-to-face contact
– Continuous contact
– Proper social environment
Primary Groups (cont.)
• The functions of a primary group are:
– Emotional support
– Socialization
– To encourage conformity
Secondary Groups
• A secondary group is impersonal and
goal oriented.
• Secondary relationships involve only
limited parts of personalities.
Reference Groups
• Reference groups help us to evaluate
ourselves and to acquire attitudes, beliefs,
and norms—in both positive and negative
ways.
In-Groups and Out-Groups
• An in-group requires extreme loyalty from
its members to the exclusion of others.
• The in-group feels opposition, antagonism,
or competition toward the out-group.
In-Groups and Out-Groups (cont.)
• These groups can be found anywhere and
display some sort of boundary that
distinguishes them.
Social Networks
• A social network is the web of social
relationships that join a person to other
people and groups.
Social Networks (cont.)
• A social network does not qualify as a
group, but serves many purposes.
• Functions:
– A sense of belonging and purpose
– Help and advice
– Help finding a job
Five Types of Group Social Interaction
• The five types of social interaction basic to
group life:
– Cooperation
– Conflict
– Social exchange
– Coercion
– Conformity
Five Types of Group Social Interaction
(cont.)

– Some encourage stability and some

encourage change.
Cooperation
• Cooperation is a form of interaction in
which individuals or groups combine their
efforts to reach some goal.
Conflict
• Groups or individuals that work against
one another for a larger share of the
rewards are in conflict.
Conflict (cont.)
• The positive effects of conflict are that it:
– promotes cooperation and unity within
the opposing groups.
– draws attention to social inequalities.
– changes norms, beliefs and values.
Social Exchange
• Social exchange is a type of social
interaction in which one person voluntarily
does something for another person,
expecting a reward in return.
• Reciprocity involves doing for others what
they have done for you.
Social Exchange (cont.)
• Cooperation is different than social
exchange because nothing is expected in
return.
Coercion
• Coercion is social interaction in which
individuals or groups are forced to give in
to the will of other individuals or groups.
• This is the opposite of social exchange.
Conformity
• Conformity is behavior that matches the
group expectations.
• Solomon Asch’s line experiment
demonstrates conformity.

Cards for Asch’s

Experiments
Conformity (cont.)
• Groupthink exists when thinking in a
group is self-deceptive, based on
conformity to group beliefs, and created by
group pressure.

Illustrating Types of
Social Interaction
The Nature of Formal Organizations
• A formal organization is deliberately
created to achieve one or more long-term
goals.
• A bureaucracy is a formal organization
based on rationality and efficiency.
Major Characteristics of Bureaucracies
• A bureaucracy is a division of labor based
on the principle of specialization.

Public School District

Organization Chart
Major Characteristics of Bureaucracies
(cont.)

• A bureaucracy is a hierarchy of authority.

• Power refers to the ability to control the
behavior of others, even against their will.
• Authority is the exercise of legitimate
power—power that derives from a
recognized or approved source.
Major Characteristics of Bureaucracies
(cont.)

• Bureaucracies are systems of rules and

procedures.
• They include written records of work and
activities.
• People in bureaucracies are promoted on
the basis of merit and qualifications.
Max Weber and Bureaucracy
• Rationalization—the mind-set emphasizing
knowledge, reason, and planning rather than
tradition and superstition—was on the rise as
the industrial economy developed.
Max Weber and Bureaucracy (cont.)
• Weber believed that a bureaucracy could
offer steadiness, precision, continuity,
speed, efficiency, and minimum cost since
the industrial economy was moving so
quickly.
• Bureaucracy is designed to protect
individuals despite its negative reputation.

Membership in Labor
Unions
Informal Structure Within
Organizations
• Bureaucracies are designed to act as
secondary groups, but primary
relationships still emerge as part of the
informal organization.

Human
Development
Informal Structure Within
Organizations (cont.)
• An informal organization is comprised of
groups within a formal organization.
• In informal organizations, personal
relationships are guided by norms, rituals,
and sentiments that are not part of the formal
organization.
• Informal groups exist to meet needs ignored
by the formal organization.
Iron Law of Oligarchy
• According to the iron law of oligarchy,
power increasingly tends to become more
and more concentrated in the hands of
fewer members of any organization.
• Those in power want to remain in power.
Iron Law of Oligarchy (cont.)
• Three organizational factors encourage
oligarchy:
– Organizations need a hierarchy of
authority to delegate decision making.
– The advantages held by those at the top
allow them to consolidate their powers.
– Other members of the organization tend
to defer to leaders.