The document discusses different types of social groups and organizations. It defines primary groups as small, personal groups like family with close relationships, and secondary groups as larger, impersonal groups focused on goals or activities like coworkers or political groups. It also describes leadership styles in groups, conformity research, reference groups, optimal group sizes, and formal organizations.
3. Social Group
Two or more people who identify and interact with one
another.
⢠Not every collection of individuals form a
group.
⢠Many people with a status in commonâ
Single women, homeowners, soldiers,
millionaires, college graduates, and
Roman Catholicsâarenât groups but
categories.
4. Primary Groups
⢠Traits
â Small
1. Personal orientation
⢠Share activities, spend time together
⢠Primary relationships
1. Family
⢠First group experienced in life
2. Members viewed as unique and irreplaceable
Small social groups whose members share personal,
lasting relationships.
5. Secondary Groups
⢠Traits
ďśLarge membership (impersonal)
ďśGoal or activity orientation
â Formal and polite
⢠Secondary relationships
ďśWeak emotional ties
ďśShort term
⢠Examples
â Co-workers and political
organizations
A large, impersonal social group whose
members pursue a specific goal or activity.
6. Group Leadership
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⢠Two roles
â Instrumental: Task-oriented
â Expressive: People-oriented
⢠Three leadership styles
â Authoritarian: Leader makes decisions;
Compliance from members
â Democratic: Member involvement
â Laissez-faire: Mainly let group function on its
own
7. Group Conformity Studies
⢠Aschâs research
â Willingness to compromise our own judgments
â Line experiment
⢠Milgramâs research
â Role authority plays
â Following orders
Groupthink: Tendency of group members to
conform, resulting in a narrow view of some issue
8. Reference Group
A social group that serves as a point of reference in
making evaluations and decisions
9. Group Size
⢠The dyad
â A two-member group
â Very intimate, but unstable given its size
⢠The triad
â A three-member group
â More stable than a dyad and more types
of interaction are possible
12. Formal Organizations
⢠Utilitarian
â Material rewards for
members
⢠Normative
â Voluntary organizations
â Ties to personal morality
⢠Coercive
â Punishment or treatment
â Total institutions
Large secondary groups organized to achieve goals
efficiently; date back thousands of years.