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Chapter six: Social Groups and Formal Organizations

Explore the dynamics and influence of social groups and formal organizations, including primary and secondary groups, in-groups and out-groups, leadership styles, and group decision-making. Learn about bureaucracies and their impact on society. Discover how groups shape our behaviors and attitudes.

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Chapter six: Social Groups and Formal Organizations

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  1. Chapter six: Social Groups and Formal Organizations

  2. Chapter Overview • Social Groups • Bureaucracies • Group Dynamics

  3. Aggregates and Categories (What is not a group) • Aggregate – People who temporarily share a space but don’t see themselves as belonging together • Category- People who share common characteristics

  4. Social Groups • Social Groups • Two or more people • Interact in patterned ways • Feeling of unity • Shared interests

  5. Primary Groups – Charles Cooley referred to primary groups as “the springs of life” Essential to our emotional well being Tend to be smaller than other groups Very impersonal We can be our true self Enduring Relationship focus: “END-IN-ITSELF” Social Groups

  6. Secondary Groups People come together on the basis of a mutual interest More formal than primary groups Often large Members interact on the basis of statuses Fail to meet the need for intimacy Weak ties Temporary Relationship focus: “MEANS-TO-END” Social Groups

  7. Many different voluntary associations today in the United States Organized on Basis of Mutual Interest The Inner Circle and Iron Law of Oligarchy How organizations come to be dominated by a self-perpetuating elite. Social Groups (Voluntary Associations)

  8. In-Groups – People feel a loyalty towards their in-groups Out-Groups – People of the in-group dislike out-groups Positive consequence of in-groups: People feel a sense of belonging Loyalty Negative consequence of in-groups and out-groups: Intense rivalries can develop “We vs. Them” mentality Ethnocentrism Social Groups

  9. Reference Groups – Groups that we use to evaluate ourselves Reference Groups will change as we go through the life course Socialization Comparison “RELATIVE DEPRIVATION” "RELATIVE GRATIFICATION" Social Groups

  10. People Connect Online Online Chat Rooms Can be impersonal and fail to meet the needs of intimacy Social Groups (Electronic Communities)

  11. Social Networks • People who are linked to one another through friends, family, acquaintances, etc. • A bank of social relationships • It is like a snowball effect • Milgram Study 1967 • “Small World Phenomenon” • Criticisms • J. Kleinfeld replicated the research (2002) • Socially Diverse Society

  12. Five Characteristics of Bureaucracies Clear Cut Levels (Hierarchy) Division of Labor Written Rules Written Communication and Records Impersonality Bureaucracies (Weber)

  13. Take on a Life of their Own Suffers from Goal Displacement –When the old goal is reached in a bureaucracy and a new goal is created to keep the bureaucracy running Rationalization of Society Bureaucracies with so many rules, regulations, and emphasis on results, would increasingly take over our lives. Red Tape Bureaucratic Alienation Marx—Worker’s Alienation Weber—Iron Cage Perpetuation of Bureaucracies

  14. How groups influence us and how we affect groups Dyads – Two people Most intense or intimate of all groups Most unstable Triads – Three People Interaction becomes less intense and intimate Stronger and more stable As a group increases in size it becomes more formal and more stable Coalitions may begin to form Greater Diffusion of Responsibility may occur in larger groups – “Someone else will take care of it” As a group gets larger, smaller groups may form Groupthink may occur- collective tunnelvision Darley & Latane (Diffusion of Responsibility) Group Dynamics

  15. Leaders are People Who Influence Others’ Behaviors, Opinions, and Attitudes Instrumental Leader – a leader who keeps the group on track towards meeting its goals Expressive Leader – tries to life the groups morale through motivation (can also be an instrumental leader) Leadership –Two Types of Leaders

  16. Authoritarian – One who gives orders and instructions with little to no information Democractic –Tried to gain a group consensus Lassiez-Faire – Totally hands off leader, lets the group lead The leadership style will change as the situation changes Leadership – Three Leadership Styles

  17. Asch and Milgram Studies Asch study • Studied the effects of peer pressure • Used a set of cards • 6 stooges and a non-stooge Milgram study • Studied the affects of authority figures • Teacher and a learner • Controversial experiment

  18. Conformity and Group Decision Making Groupthink • Decision making that ignores alternate solutions in order to maintain group harmony

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