Social Group
Definitions: A social group is defined as:
“When two or more individuals come together and influence one another, they may be called a social group” – William Ogburn
“Social group is a group of two or more persons who are in a state of interaction with one another”. – Mayer Nimkoff
Meaning: A social group is a collectivity of two or more individuals who are in state of interaction with one another. The state of social interaction refers to the reciprocal influence individuals exert on one another through inter-stimulation and response. This state of social interaction or inter-influence is a compulsory characteristic of a social group. A group of boys discussing the last watched movie is a social group because through their verbal interaction, they are influencing one another.
Examples: A family living in a home, a group of employees working in the same organization, a group of classmates, a group of members of a meeting and so on.
TYPES OF SOCIAL GROUPS
Social groups have the following types:
On the basis of contact (C.H Cooley)
- Primary Group
- Secondary Group
On the basis of Identification (W.G Sumner)
- In-group
- Out-group
On the basis of rules and regulation
- Formal Group
- Informal Group
On the basis of structure (Dwight Sanderson)
- Voluntary Group
- Involuntary Group
- Delegate Group
On the basis of relation to society (George Hassen)
- Un-social Group
- Pseudo-social Group
- Anti-social Group
- Pro-social Group
ON THE BASIS OF CONTACT
On the basis of contact among the member, social groups are divided into two types: 1) Primary and, 2) Secondary Group.
Primary Group
The concept of Primary Group is given by C.H Cooley. Primary groups have the following characteristics:
- There is face-to-face interaction among its members.
- There are frequent interactions among its members.
- The relations among the members are too personal, intimate and intense.
- There is a sense of ‘we-feeling’ in the members of the group..
- The members possess similar attributes such as language, interests, culture, religion etc.
- There is physical proximity among the members.
- These groups are smaller in size.
Examples: Family, Neighborhood, Local brotherhood, Close friends and peers.
Primary groups have great importance in our society. For instance, the family provides food, shelter and care to a child. An individual learns his culture and develops a healthy personality within this primary group to become a productive citizen of society.
Secondary Group
The concept of Secondary Group is given by Maciver. Secondary groups have the following characteristics:
- The group is formed by relations secondary to the primary group.
- There is comparatively less face-to-face interaction.
- There is comparatively less frequent interaction.
- The relations among the members are impersonal and secondary. These relations are relatively less personal, less intimate and less intense.
- The members have specific aims or interest to achieve.
- There is less physical proximity among the members.
- These groups are larger in size.
Examples: A shopkeeper-customer relation, a doctor-patient relation, an advocate-client relation, an teacher-student relation, a candidate-voter relation. These types of relationship consitute secondary groups.
ON THE BASIS OF IDENTIFICATION
W.G Sumner has divided social groups into two types: 1) In-group and, 2) Out-group.
In-group
A group, to which we directly belong, is called our in-group. It can be our own family, tribe, sex, occupation, games or interest group. For example, if I am player of a cricket team, my cricket-team is an in-group for me. A religious group is an in-group for its followers. A geographical community is an in-group for its residents. The term ‘in-group’ is used when an individual wants to identify himself with a group or show an association with his group, such as by saying: We are Americans. We are English. We are Christians. We are Muslims. We are students. We are doctors. We are musicians.
The members of an in-group have a sense of ‘we-feeling’ and belongingness towards their in-group.
Out-group
There is a sense of ‘they-feeling’ in relation to an out-group.
ON THE BASIS OF RULES AND REGULATIONS
There are two types of social groups on the basis of rules and regulations: 1) Formal and 2) Informal Group.
Formal Group
It is a group that has well-defined rules and regulation for joining the group, staying in the group and leaving the group. Those, who fulfill these rules and regulations, can join and engage in the activities of the group. The membership can be cancelled if a member violates these rules. Examples include organizations, banks, hospitals, educational institutions, official associations and firms and so on.
Informal Group
It is a group which has no prescribed rules and regulations for joining the group, staying in the group and leaving the group. Any person can join the group, participate in it and leave it whenever they want. For example, a group of students sitting in the playground and gossiping with one another. Any student can normally come and join it to share their views. Other examples include: People gathered to see a Joker in a public place, informal clubs and associations.
ON THE BASIS OF STRUCTURE
Sanderson has divided social groups on the basis of structure into three types: Voluntary, Involuntary and Delegate group
Involuntary Group
It is a group that an individual cannot join or leave by his or her own choice. For example, a family is an involuntary group because an individual has no control over his birth - to be born or not born in a specific family. Similarly, the sex-group is an involuntary group to which we are born without our choice and we have no control on changing our sex-group (e.g. from male to female or vice versa). Age-group is also an involuntary group. We belong to our age group which changes with our growth but it changes in the same way for all other people in our age-group, so we always remain member of that age-group. Moreover, as age changes involuntarily and we have no control on changing our age group.
Voluntary Group
It is a group that an individual can join or leave by his or her own choice. For example, you can join people watching a game in the playground, you can become a student in a college, you can join an organization and so on. Sometimes, you may require to fulfill certain criteria to join a voluntary group but it is still in your control to fulfill the criteria for joining it. This means membership volutary group is not totally out of the domain a person.
Delegate Group
ON THE BASIS OF RELATIONS TO SOCIETY
George Hassen has divided social groups based on its relation to society into the following four types:
Un-social Group
It is a group that remains detached within a society. They do not participate in the society and remains alone. The examples are introverts, people with adjustment problems or psychological anomalies, drug addicts, criminals, thieves, and murders.
Anti-social Groups
Pro-Social Group
Pseudo-Social Group