L5: HOW SOCIETY IS ORGANIZED Flashcards
a collection of two or more people who interact with one another, share similar characteristics, and collectively have a sense of unity
social group
A Social Group can be a collection of two or more people who
- interact with one another
- share similar characteristics
- collectively have a sense of unity
Characteristics of a Social Group
- Reciprocal relationships
- Sense of unity and feeling of sympathy towards each other
- Common interests and ideas
- Similar behavior: for achieving common goals and interests
- Group norms: every group has its own set of rules and norms
it is needed for achieving common goals and interests
similar behavior
indicates that every group has its own set of rules and norms
group norms
Functions of Groups
- Defining boundaries
- Choosing leaders
- Making a decision
- Setting goals
To identify who are the members of a group, some sort of devices must be used to mark the boundaries.
Defining boundaries
Groups by nature must resolve the issue of leadership
Choosing leaders
someone who occupies central role or position of dominance and influence in a group
leader
Among foraging societies, making decisions are made involving — — in the community
everyone else
Among modern societies, group use — — to determine the decision of the group to save time and energy
voting system
All groups must have a —
goal
Nature of Social Ties
- Primary group
- Secondary group
small size and characterized by personal, intimate and non-specialized relationships between their members
Primary Group
examples of primary groups
Ex. Family, Basketball team, a couple etc.
formal, impersonal group in which there is little social intimacy or mutual understanding.
Secondary Group
examples of secondary group
business organization, political parties, labor union, etc.
Social Identifications
- In-group
- Out-group
a member can identify himself/herself within that group.
In-group
Indicators for group identification
ethnicity
faith
ideology
common interest
past time or hobbies
etc.
group or category to which people feel they do not belong
out-group
Group that people use as a standard in evaluating or understanding themselves, their attitudes and their behavior
Reference
Organizations
- Formal organization
2.
an organization type in which the job of each member is clearly defined, whose authority, responsibility and accountability is fixed
Formal organization
Stable; continues for a long time
Formal organization
Types of Groups
- Primary
- Secondary
- Formal
- Informal
- Inclusive
- Exclusive
- In-Groups
- Out-Groups
Those which interpersonal relationships take place on a face-to-face basis and with great frequency.
Primary
Relationship are more intimate
Primary
More impersonal
Secondary
Characterized by formalized or contractual relationships among members
Secondary
Helps make a group more stable and enables it to resists drastic changes
Formal
More often a characteristic of secondary groups
Formal
A fairly complex degree of structure in order to maintain itself whereas too much complexity gets in the way of the functioning of small groups
Informal
A characteristic of primary groups
Informal
Open their doors to all interested individuals and solicit membership.
Inclusive
Set special qualification for membership other than a sharing of interest with
Exclusive
They limit membership to certain classes of individuals
Exclusive
Characterized by strong sense of mutual identification to point where members feel isolated and out of place when out of context in a group.
In-group
Membership and participation is likely to evoke a strong feeling of loyalty, sympathy, and devotion
In-group
Membership and participation are likely to evoke a strong feeling of loyalty, sympathy, and devotion.
In-group
The “they group”, “ the others” often the spacegoat; may become targets of discriminations and hostility.
Out-group
