The document defines social groups and discusses their key characteristics and classifications. It notes that a social group involves human interaction and influence between two or more individuals. The main characteristics of social groups include a collection of individuals, interaction, mutual awareness, common interests, norms, and influence on personality. Groups are also classified based on factors like formality, size, and type of membership. Primary groups involve close-knit relationships like family, while secondary groups are larger and more task-oriented like workplaces. Reference groups are those an individual compares themselves to help determine their own identity and behaviors.

1. SOCIAL GROUPS
Shyamasree Saha
Ph. D. Scholar
NIT Agartala

2. Definition:
• Harry M. Johnson says that ‘A social
group is a system of social
interaction’.
• Maclver & Page defined social group as
‘any collection of human beings who
are brought into human
relationships with one another’.
• Ogburn & Mimkoff said, ‘Whenever two
or more individuals come together
and influence one another , they
may be said to constitute a social
group’.

3. Characteristics:
• Collection of Individuals
• Interaction among Members
• Mutual Awareness
• ‘We-Feeling’
• Group unity & Solidarity
• Common Interest
• Similar Behaviour
• Group Norms
• Size of the Group
• Groups are Dynamic
• Stability
• Influence on Personality

4. Social Bonds- Factors of Group Life
• Psychological Factors
• Biological Factors
• Kinship Bond
• Geographic Factor
• Cultural Factor
• Economic Factor
• Religious Factor
• Political Factor
• Other Factors like common occupation,
language, traditions, belief & values, etc.

5. Importance of Social Groups:
• Survival becomes problematic without
Groups
• Groups helps Social Survival as well
• Groups contribute to the development of
the Society

6. Classification:
1. In-Groups & Out-Groups
2. Involuntary & Voluntary Groups
3. Reference & Membership Groups
4. Territorial & Non-Territorial Groups
5. Primary & Secondary Groups
6. Community & Association
7. Homogenous & Heterogeneous Groups
8. Formal & Informal Groups

7. Primary Group
Primary groups, such as family and friends, are small, long
term groups characterized by face-to-face interaction and
high levels of cohesiveness, solidarity, and member
identification. In many cases, individuals become part of
primary groups involuntarily: Most are born into a family,
which provides for their well-being until they can join other
social groups. Other primary groups form when people
interact in significant, meaningful ways for a prolonged
period of time.
Cooley (1909) thought that primary groups protect members
from harm, care for them when they are ill, and provide them
with shelter and sustenance. But he believed that their most
important function was in creating a bridge between the
individual and society at large.

8. • Primary groups are primary in the
sense that they give the individual his
earliest and completest experience of
social unity, and also in the sense that
they do not change in the same
degree as more elaborate relations,
but form a comparatively permanent
source out of which the latter are ever
springing. (Cooley, 1909)

9. Physical Conditions of Primary Group:
• Close (face to face) physical proximity
of the group members
• Smallness of the Group
• Durability of the Relationship

10. Characteristics of Primary Group:
• The Relationship is an End in itself
• The Relationship is Personal
• The Relationship is Inclusive (complete, Wide ranging)
• The Relationship is Spontaneous
• Stability of the Group
• Small Size
• Similarity of the Background
• Limited Self Interest
• Intensity of Shared Interest
• Communication
• Direct Co-operation

11. Importance:
• Primary Group – A great Humanizing Agent
• Development of Personality
• Satisfaction of Psychological needs/
Satisfaction of the need of man for man.
• Provision of Stimulus
• United in a Process
• Strengthen the Democratic Spirit
• Acts as an Agent of Social Control
• Carrier of Social Norms and enforcers of them

12. Secondary Group:
In earlier times, individuals belonged only to primary
groups. They could live out their entire lives without
leaving their small, close-knit families, tribes, or
communities. As societies became more complex,
however, so did their groups (Toennies, 1887/1963).
Cooley called these more complex social structures
secondary groups. Such groups are larger and more
formally organized than primary groups, and they tend
to be shorter in duration and less emotionally
involving. However, secondary groups continue to
define the individual’s place
in the social structure of society

13. People in a secondary group interact on a less
personal level than in a primary group, and their
relationships are temporary rather than long lasting.
Since secondary groups are established to perform
functions, people’s roles are more interchangeable.
A secondary group is one you have chosen to be a
part of. They are based on interests and activities.
They are where many people can meet close friends
or people they would just call acquaintances.
Secondary groups are groups in which one
exchanges explicit commodities, such as labour for
wages, services for payments, etc. Examples of these
would be employment, vendor-to-client
relationships, etc

14. Characteristics of Secondary Group:
• Dominance of Secondary Relations
• Largeness of the Size
• Membership
• No Physical Basis
• Specific Ends or Interests
• Indirect Communication
• Nature of Group Control
• Group Structure
• Limited influence on Personality

15. Importance
• For a long time the primary groups could meet the
essential requirements of people. Due to the
growth of cities and population, complexity of
social structure and differentiation of interests,
secondary groups have become a necessity.
• The processes of Industrialisation and
urbanisation have added to the unprecedented
expansion and growth of society. As a result, the
simple face-to-face groups could no longer serve
the basic needs of the people. Secondary groups
have replaced the earlier primary groups in many
fields

16. • Secondary groups of innumerable kind have come
into being in order to cater to the needs and demands
of the modern society. Not only the number but even
the varieties of the secondary groups are increasing.
People are becoming more and more dependent on
these groups now. Our life is, today, to a great extent,
lived and controlled by large number of secondary
groups
• Our social set up is such that we are often inevitably
dragged into one kind of secondary group or another.
For example, a labourer working in a factory is forced
to join a trade union whether he wants it or not. It
becomes almost a necessity for the labourer to join
one union or the other to protect his rights and fulfill
his interests

17. • Secondary groups have entered almost all the fields —
political, economic, commercial, industrial, religious,
educational, cultural etc. More than the primary group the
secondary groups are dominating our life. Much of our
activities and achievements are carried on through
secondary groups. They provide opportunities for us to
develop our faculties and express our talents
• They liberate and limit our energy. Much of our attitudes
and outlook, ideas and ideologies are shaped and moulded
by them. The modern civilised life is such that men have
started establishing primary groups within the broader
secondary groups
• The spirit of sacrifice, helpfulness, service, cooperation,
dedication, sympathy, fair play etc., which we consider to
be the characteristic qualities of primary group are also
often found to a very great extent in secondary groups

18. Reference Groups:
• A reference group is a concept referring to a group to which an
individual or another group is compared. Sociologists call any
group that individuals use as a standard for evaluating
themselves and their own behaviour a reference group.
• Reference groups are used in order to evaluate and determine
the nature of a given individual or other group's characteristics
and sociological attributes. It is the group to which the
individual relates or aspires to relate himself or herself
psychologically. It becomes the individual's frame of reference
and source for ordering his or her experiences, perceptions,
cognition, and ideas of self. It is important for determining a
person's self-identity, attitudes, and social ties. It becomes the
basis of reference in making comparisons or contrasts and in
evaluating one's appearance and performance.

19. • Reference groups can be either formal or informal.
Schools, friends, and peers are examples of
informal reference groups. Clubs, associations,
and religious organizations are usually formal
reference groups. Individuals can also be reference
groups (usually known as opinion leaders).
Additionally, celebrities can be used as a reference
group. A company might use a celebrity it feels
will match its target market to get that market to
purchase its product.

20. • Reference groups are groups that consumers
compare themselves to or associate with.
Reference groups are similar to opinion leaders in
that they can have a profound influence on
consumer behaviour. Reference groups are
considered a social influence in consumer
purchasing. They are often groups that consumers
will look to make purchasing decisions. So if a
reference group endorses a product, either
through use or statements about the product,
those that look to the group will often purchase
that product. On the other hand, if a reference
group disapproves of a product, those that
associate with that group will probably not
purchase the product.