This document provides an overview of sociological concepts related to society and social groups. It discusses key thinkers like Durkheim, Marx, and Weber and their theories on what holds societies together. It describes the evolution of societies from pre-industrial to industrial to post-industrial. Pre-industrial societies included hunter-gatherer, pastoral, horticultural, agricultural, and feudal structures. Industrialization led to urbanization and new social classes. Post-industrial societies are based on information and services. Functionalism examines how society's elements interconnect, while conflict theory sees society as competition over resources between social classes.

1. Introduction to Sociology
Module 5: Society and Groups

2. Why It Matters: Society and Groups
• If we use our sociological imagination to examine France’s history, we
might recall that sociology began with August Comte’s question “What
holds society together?”
• We can think about other countries that have massive income disparities
and ask “What holds these societies together?”
• Explanations of society can be seen through theories advanced by Karl
Marx, Emile Durkheim, and Max Weber

3. Introduction to the Fundamentals of Society
• Examining society from a macrosociological point of view can be difficult but major shifts
helped early sociologists examine societies
• September 11, 2001 affected not only the United States but societies around the world
because of global markets and communication
• The 2018-2019 government shutdown also provides an example of the impact not just
on the immediate government workers but the ripple effect of contractors and everyone
depending on the closed government agencies

4. Society, Culture, and Social Institutions
• Culture describes a group’s shared norms and values and society descries a group
of people who live in a defined geographical area who interact and share a common
culture
• Social institutions are mechanisms or patterns of social order focused on meeting
social needs
• Generally, we do not think about the rules of behavior as we go through our day
unless we are confronted with a different norm that focuses our attention to what is
accepted in our culture
• Social institutions can be most visible when they break down, such as when
teachers go on strike, the government shuts down, or the definition of family norms
change

5. Types of Societies
• Sociologist Gerhard Lenski (1924 - ) defined societies in terms of their technological
sophistication
• As a society advances, so does its use of technology (application of science to daily
problems)
• Societies with rudimentary technology depend on the fluctuations of their environments
• Industrialized societies have more control over the impact of their surrounding and thus
develop different cultural features
• Sociologists generally classify societies along an industrialization spectrum from
preindustrial to industrial to postindustrial

6. Pre-Industrial Societies
• Societies were small, rural, and dependent largely on local resources with few
specialized occupations
• Hunter-Gatherer Societies: demonstrate the strongest dependence on the
environment and were the basic structure of human society until about 10 to 12
thousand years ago
• Hunter-gatherers relied on their surroundings for survival and were nomadic as they
moved to new areas when resources became scarce
• Today, only a few hundred hunter-gatherer societies remain in existence, including
indigenous Australian tribes and the Bambuti in the Democratic Republic of Congo

7. Pre-Industrial Societies, continued (1)
• Changing conditions and adaptations led some societies to rely on the
domestication of animals
• Pastoral societies like the Maasai villagers of East Africa rely on the domestication
of animals for survival
• Pastoral groups were able to breed livestock for food, clothing, and transportation,
creating a surplus of goods
• Herding, or pastoral societies remained nomadic because they followed their
animals to fresh feeding grounds
• Horticultural societies formed in areas where rainfall and other conditions allowed
them to grow stable crops based on the newly developed capacity to grow and
cultivate plants
• Horticultural societies largely depended on the environment for survival but were
able to start permanent settlements, creating more stability and became the basis
for the first revolution in human survival

8. Pre-Industrial Societies, continued (2)
• Agricultural societies relied on permanent tools for survival
• Around 10,000 B.C.E., the Agricultural Revolution made farming possible and profitable
as farmers learned to rotate crops and reuse waste products and developed new longer
lasting tools
• People also had more time and comfort to engage in more thoughtful activities, known
as the “dawn of civilization”
• Those with more resources could afford better living, and differences in social standing
between men and women increased
• Feudal societies contained a strict hierarchical system of power based around land
ownership and protection
• Nobility placed vassals in charge of land (fiefdoms), cultivated by the lower class
• Peasants were guaranteed a place to live and protection in return for maintaining the
land
• Ultimately, the social and economic system of feudalism failed and was replaced by
capitalism

9. Industrial Society
• In the 18th century, Europe experienced a dramatic rise in technological invention,
ushering in the Industrial Revolution
• Within a generation, tasks that had previously required months of labor became
achievable in a matter of days
• In 1782, James Watt and Matthew Boulton created the steam engine and steam
power began appearing everywhere
• Agricultural productivity soared, products such as paper and glass became readily
available, and quality and accessibility to education and health care increased
• One of the results of increased productivity and technology was the rise of urban
centers
• As capitalism expanded, so too did social mobility

10. Industrial Society, continued
• During the 18th and 19th centuries of the Industrial Revolution,
sociology was born
• Large amounts of people were moving to new environments and
often found themselves faces with horrendous living conditions
• During this time, social scientists began to study the relationship
between the individual members of society and society as a
whole
• During this time, power moved from the hands of the aristocracy
and “old money” to business-savvy newcomers who amassed
fortunes in their lifetimes
• Concerns over the exploitation of workers led to the formation of
labor unions and laws focused on working conditions

11. Post- Industrial Society
• Information societies, sometimes known as postindustrial or digital societies, are a
recent development
• Information societies are based on the production of information and services in
contrast to industrial societies that are rooted in the production of material goods
• Since the economy of information societies is driven by knowledge and not material
goods
• Power lies with those in charge of storing and distributing information
• Members of a postindustrial society are likely to be employed as sellers of service
• Social classes are divided by access to education

12. Introduction to Theoretical Perspectives on Society
• Three sociologists are considered fundamental to the field of sociological
research: Émile Durkheim, Karl Marx, and Max Weber
• These three theorists developed theories that still provide useful tools for us to
understand the events around us

13. Functionalism and Society
• Social solidarity (the social ties that bind a group of people together) and social
facts (the laws, morals, beliefs, customs, ritual, and cultural rules governing life) are
both used by functionalists to analyze society
• Émile Durkheim stressed the necessary interconnectivity of all of its elements
• Collective conscience: communal beliefs, morals, and attitudes of a society
• Durkheim likened society to that of a living organism with each organ playing a
necessary role in keeping the being alive
• Members of society who violate social norms are necessary to the well-being of
society because punishments for deviance affirms the collective conscience

14. Functionalism and Society, continued
• Durkheim was primarily concerned that the cultural glue that held society
together was failing and people were becoming more divided
• Preindustrial societies were held together with mechanical solidarity, a type of
social order maintained by the collective consciousness of a culture where
things are done mostly because they have always been done that way
• Industrial societies had organic solidarity, which is social order based around
an acceptance of economic and social differences with division of labor
becoming specialized
• This transition from mechanical to organic is advantageous for society in the
long run
• Anomie is a situation in which society no longer has the support of a firm
collective consciousness that is experienced in times of social uncertainty
• As societies reach an advanced stage of organic solidarity, it has finished its
development

15. Conflict Theory and Society
• Conflict theory looks at society as a competition for limited resources
• This macro-level approach is identified with Karl Marx who saw society as made up of
individuals in different social classes competing for resources and leisure time
• For Marx, society’s constructions were predicated on the idea that a society’s
economic character forms its base, upon which rests the culture and social institutions,
the superstructure
• Marx saw conflict in society as the primary means of change
• Conflict exists between the bourgeoisie (owners) and the proletariat (laborers)
• Marx maintained these conflicts appeared consistently throughout history during times
of social revolution or “class antagonisms”

16. Conflict Theory and Society, continued (1)
• In the mid 19th century, the bourgeois industrial employers
became more and more exploitative toward the working
class proletariat
• Frederick Engels, Marx’s colleague and friend wrote The
Condition of the Working-Class in England(1844) describing
the horrid conditions in detail
• Marx and Engels referred to capitalism as the “dictatorship
of the bourgeoisie”
• Marx believed that what we do defines who we are and the
bourgeois revolution resulted in workers working for wages
alone

17. Conflict Theory and Society, continued (2)
• Marx described modern society in terms of alienation, the condition in
which the individual is isolated and divorced from society, work, or sense of
self
• Alienation from the product of one’s labor: An industrial worker does not have the opportunity to
related to the product he labors on
• Alienation from the process of one’s labor: A worker does not control the conditions of the job
• Alienation from others: Workers compete rather than cooperate
• Alienation from one’s self: Loss of connectivity between a worker and occupation
• False consciousness is a condition in which the beliefs, ideals, or
ideology of a person are not in the person’s best interest
• Class consciousness is the awareness of one’s rank in society

18. Symbolic Interactionism
• Max Weber’s primary focus on the structure of society was in the elements of class,
status, and power
• Weber believed that status and class determined power and formed the “base” of
society
• A rational society is one built around logic and efficiency rather than morality or
tradition
• Weber was also interested in how individuals experienced societal divisions more and
reflect the symbolic interactionism theory
• Iron cage, in which an individual is trapped by institutions and bureaucracy is the
culmination of industrialization, rationalization, and the like

19. Practice Question 1
An organization and structure of a group of people is called a __________, while the
beliefs and practices of those people would be considered __________.
a. relativism; xenocentrism
b. society; culture
c. culture; society
d. community; society

20. Practice Question 1 Answer
An organization and structure of a group of people is called a __________, while the
beliefs and practices of those people would be considered __________.
a. relativism; xenocentrism
b. society; culture
c. culture; society
d. community; society
Explanation of answer:
A society is an organization and structure of a group of people while a culture includes
the beliefs and practices of the people within the society.

21. Practice Question 2
According to Durkheim, __________ was a key feature of preindustrial societies while
__________ was a key feature of industrial societies.
a. mechanical solidarity; organic solidarity
b. organic solidarity; mechanical solidarity
c. organic solidarity; social solidarity
d. social solidarity; social facts

22. Practice Question 2 Answer
According to Durkheim, __________ was a key feature of preindustrial societies while
__________ was a key feature of industrial societies.
a. mechanical solidarity; organic solidarity
b. organic solidarity; mechanical solidarity
c. organic solidarity; social solidarity
d. social solidarity; social facts
Explanation of answer:
Mechanical solidarity was a key feature of preindustrial societies with strong bonds of kindship
and a low division of labor and organic solidarity was a key feature of industrial societies where
social order is based around an acceptance of economic and social differences.

23. Practice Question 3
The concept of the “iron cage”, a circumstance where the individual feels trapped by the
bureaucracies and institutional constraints of a hyper-rational capitalist society, was
popularized by which of the following sociologists?
a. Émile Durkheim
b. Karl Marx
c. Max Weber
d. Solomon Asch

24. Practice Question 3 Answer
The concept of the “iron cage”, a circumstance where the individual feels trapped by the
bureaucracies and institutional constraints of a hyper-rational capitalist society, was popularized
by which of the following sociologists?
a. Émile Durkheim
b. Karl Marx
c. Max Weber
d. Solomon Asch
Explanation of answer:
For Weber, the culmination of industrialization and rationalization, and the like results in what he
referred t as the iron cage, in which the individual is trapped by institutions and bureaucracy.

25. The McDonaldization of Society
• The McDonaldization of Society (Ritzer 1993) refers to the increasing presence of
the fast food business model in common social institutions, including government,
education, and even relationships.
• The model includes efficiency (the division of labor), predictability, calculability, and
control (monitoring)
• While McDonaldization has resulted in improved profits and an increased availability of
various goods and services to more people worldwide, it has also reduced the variety
of good available in the marketplace while rendering products uniform, generic, and
bland
• Contemporary efforts can be referred to as “de-McDonaldization”: farmers markets,
microbreweries, and various do-it-yourself trends. And with recent advertising and
products emphasizing individuality, even McDonald’s seems to be de-McDonaldizing
itself.

26. Think About It: McDonaldization
• Choose two of the four characteristics of the McDonaldization of
Society (efficiency, predictability, calculability, and control) and
show how these concepts can be applied to other aspects of
our lives.

27. Introduction to Organizations and Groups
• Another way to advance understanding of society is to examine formal organizations
and groups
• We live in a time when the pace of change and technology are requiring people to be
more flexible and less bureaucratic in their thinking while also a developing trend to
bureaucratize and conventionalize local institutions (McDonaldization of society)
• Group size, leadership styles, and connections all impact how individual members
act

28. Types of Formal Organizations
• Formal organizations are large and impersonal such as schools, businesses,
healthcare, and government and fall into three categories (Etzioni, 1975)
• Ideal-type is a model or collection of characteristics describing most examples of
an item under discussion
• Normative organizations: Also called voluntary organizations, these are based
on shared interests and membership is rewarding
• Coercive organizations are groups that we must be coerced, or pushed, to join
• Utilitarian organizations are joined because of the need for a specific material
reward

29. Bureaucracies
• Hierarchy of authority places one individual or office in charge of another,
who in turn answers to superiors with tasks and duties flowing downward and
responsibility upward
• Clear division of labor: each individual has a specialized task to perform
• Explicit rules are the ways in which rules are outlined, written down, or
standardized
• Impersonality: Takes personal feelings out of professional situations
• Meritocracies: Hiring and promotion is based on proven and documented
skills rather than nepotism or random chance
• Bureaucracies are intended to improve efficiency and equal opportunity but
lack flexibility and perpetuate the existing power balance
• Iron rule of oligarchy happens where an entire organization is ruled by a few
elites

30. Types of Groups
• Group is any collection of at least two people who interact with some frequency
and who share a sense that their identity is somehow aligned with the group
• Aggregate is a non-group consisting of people who exist in the same place at the
same time without interactions or shared identity
• Category is a non-group that shares similar characteristics but are not tied to one
another in any way
• Non-groups can become groups
• Primary groups (i.e. families) play the most critical role in our lives and is usually
fairly small and made up of individuals who generally engage face-to-face in long-
term emotional ways, serving emotional needs (expressive functions)

31. Types of Groups, continued (1)
• Secondary groups are often larger and impersonal, task-focused and time limited,
serving an instrumental function that is goal or task oriented
• In-group (Sumner): a group in which an individual feels belonging and sees it as
integral to self
• Out-group (Sumner): a group someone doesn’t belong to and may feel disdain or
competition towards
• While group affiliations can be neutral, they can also explain some negative
behaviors (bullying, white supremacist movements)

32. Types of Groups, continued (2)
• Reference group is one to which people
compare themselves and provides a
standard of measurement
• Most people have more than one
reference group
• Reference groups can be one’s cultural
center, workplace, family gathering,
parents and can convey competing
messages

33. Group Dynamics
• Dyads (Simmel)are two member groups with high intensity but low stability because it
is dependent on both members’ commitment
• Triads (Simmel) has lower intensity, higher stability since one member can leave, but
also has the chance for two members to hold majority opinion
• Small groups generally have strong internal cohesiveness and a sense of connection
but may struggle to achieve large goals compared to larger groups
• Conformity is the extent to which an individual complies with group norms and
expectations (Asch and Milgram research)

34. Practice Question 4
Groups that members join in order to gain a reward are called
a. voluntary or normative organizations
b. coercive organizations or total institutions
c. utilitarian organizations
d. a bureaucracy

35. Practice Question 4 Answer
Groups that members join in order to gain a reward are called
a. voluntary or normative organizations
b. coercive organizations or total institutions
c. utilitarian organizations
d. a bureaucracy
Explanation of answer:
Utilitarian organizations, which, as the name suggests, are joined because of the need
for a specific material reward.

36. Practice Question 5
Sarah is a young adult who watches a daytime television drama where people in her
age group have upscale places to live, nice cars, beautiful clothes, and lots of leisure
time without appearing to have a job. She wants to be like these people and by
comparing herself to these beautiful people, she has established a/an
a. out-group
b. primary group
c. in-group
d. reference group

37. Practice Question 5 Answer
Sarah is a young adult who watches a daytime television drama where people in her age group
have upscale places to live, nice cars, beautiful clothes, and lots of leisure time without
appearing to have a job. She wants to be like these people and by comparing herself to this
group, she has established a/an
a. out-group
b. primary group
c. in-group
d. reference group
Explanation of answer:
A reference group is a group to which an individual or another group is compared. In this case,
Sarah is comparing herself to this group of people in the daytime drama.

38. Discuss: Advertising and Groups
• How does advertising play on the idea of in-groups and out-
groups to sell products and services?

39. Leadership Styles
• Instrumental leaders are goal-oriented and largely concerned with
accomplishing set tasks
• Expressive leaders are more concerned with promoting emotional strength and
health and ensuring people feel supported
• Democratic leaders encourage group participation in all decision making and
work hard to build consensus before action
• Laissez-faire leaders are hands-off and allow group members to self-manage
and make decisions
• Authoritarian leaders issue orders and assign tasks and are clear instrumental
leaders with a strong focus on meeting goals

40. Putting It Together: Society and Groups
• Groups like political parties are prevalent in our lives and provide a significant way to
understand and define ourselves
• Groups are enduring social units that help foster shared value systems and are key to
the structure of society
• The functionalist perspective is a big-picture, macro-level view that looks at how
different aspects of society are intertwined
• The conflict perspective is a microanalytical view that focuses on the genesis and
growth of inequality
• The symbolic interaction perspective analyzes groups on a micro-level, looking at the
day-to-day interactions of groups

41. Discuss: What if the Internet Stopped Working?
• What would like be like if the Internet just stopped working?
Describe how this event would impact two different social
institutions.

42. Quick Review
• What is the relationship between culture, society, and social institutions?
• How do you identify and define social institutions?
• What are the difference between preindustrial, industrial, and postindustrial
societies?
• What is Durkheim’s functionalist view of society?
• What are the differences between mechanical solidarity from organic solidarity’?
• What is the conflict theory view of society?
• What are Karl Marx’s concepts of class and types of alienation?
• How do symbolic interactionists understand society?

43. Quick Review, continued
• What are the components of McDonaldization?
• What are the different types of formal organizations?
• How is bureaucracy an ideal-type?
• What are the functions of a variety of groups (i.e. primary/secondary, in-
groups/out-groups, and reference groups)?
• How does size influence group dynamics?
• How is conformity impacted by groups?
• What are the similarities and differences between the different styles of
leadership?