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Chapter 5

Chapter 5. Separate and Together: Life in Groups. Overview. Social Groups Social Networks Group Dynamics In-Class Exercise Social Influence Video Presentation Group Leadership Teamwork Bureaucracy The McDonaldization of Society. What is a Group?.

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Chapter 5

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  1. Chapter 5 Separate and Together: Life in Groups

  2. Overview • Social Groups • Social Networks • Group Dynamics • In-Class Exercise • Social Influence • Video Presentation • Group Leadership • Teamwork • Bureaucracy • The McDonaldization of Society

  3. What is a Group? • Mid-level between macro and micro • Large or small • Groups • Aggregates—Crowds • Temporarily share physical location • No common identity • No lasting social relations • Social Groups • Share some attribute • Identify with one another • Interact with each other • Groups have a powerful influence

  4. Primary Groups • Family, friends, gangs • Intimate face-to-face contact • Most important to our sense of self • High level of cooperation • Intense sense of belonging

  5. Secondary Groups • Co-workers, neighbors, classmates • Larger and less intimate • Organized around specific goal • Often temporary • May break into primary groups

  6. In-Groups and Out-Groups • In-Groups • Members identify with and feel loyalty • Out-Groups • To whom we feel opposition, rivalry or hostility • Divided into “us” and “them” • Can produce prejudice and discrimination • Same qualities viewed as positive in us, negative in them

  7. Reference Groups and Social Networks • Reference Groups • Provides standard of comparison • Against which we evaluate ourselves • Social Networks • Web of direct and indirect ties connecting to others • Video clip: History of Social Networking • Others may affect us • Jobs, gender and networks • Contagion and STDs

  8. The pattern of interaction between groups and individuals Smaller groups Fewer ties More intimate As groups grow larger: More stable Less personal interaction More formal structure Group Dynamics

  9. Group cohesion Solidarity, loyalty, or team spirit Feeling strongly tied to membership Factors that enhance cohesion Shared values Same demographic traits Attraction to group Groupthink Highly cohesive groups Demand conformity Punish violations Anomie State of “normlessness” Alienation and loss of purpose Results from weaker social bonds Group Dynamics The Challenger space shuttle disaster Bowling Alone

  10. In-Class Exercise: The Twenty Statements Test

  11. Influence of group on our attitudes and behaviors What is conformity? Attitudes and behavior that result from real or imagined social pressure Types of conformity Compliance Identification Internalization Why do we conform? Norms (pre- and pro-scriptions) Positive and negative sanctions Is conformity good or bad? Critical for social order May depend upon context Problems of “over-conformity” Social Influence (Peer Pressure)

  12. Case Studies in Conformity • Historical Cases: “Crimes of Obedience” • Nazi Germany and the Holocaust

  13. Social Scientific Experiments in Conformity: The Asch Experiment

  14. Social Scientific Experiments in Conformity:The Milgram Experiment

  15. Video Presentation: “Basic Instincts: Milgram Revisited”

  16. Qualities of Leadership • Power • The ability to control others • Coercive—backed by threat of force • Influential—supported by persuasion • Authority • The legitimate right to power • Traditional—based on custom, birth, or divine right • Legal-rational—based on laws, rules and procedures • Charismatic—based on perception of remarkable personal qualities • Leadership Styles • Instrumental • Task or goal oriented • Expressive • Emotional and relational

  17. Bureaucracies • A secondary group • Designed for maximum efficiency • Examples: • Government agencies, Armed Forces, U.S. Post Office, DMV, banks, fast food restaurants, hospitals, courts, ministries, schools, corporations, etc. • Organizational Traits • Specialization • Technical competence • Hierarchy • Rules and regulations • Impersonality • Formal written communication • Bureaucracies increasingly dominate our lives

  18. BureaucraciesMax Weber -- “The Iron Cage” • Rationalization • Implementing formal rules and regulations • Disregards subjective or individual concerns • Characteristics • Functions: • Standardization • Efficiency • Dependability • Predictability • Dysfunctions: • “Red tape” • Dehumanization (alienation) • The McDonaldization of Society(George Ritzer) • Trickle-down of rationalization into everyday lives

  19. Responding to Bureaucratic Constraints • How to get benefits but not be controlled • Resisting alienation • Interpersonal interactions to humanize • “Enlightened bureaucracies” • Responding to needs of both individuals and organization • Life outside bureaucracy • Example: • Burning Man

  20. In-Class Exercise: College Bureaucracy

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