Man is part of society. Therefore, throughout his life he contacts or is a member of many groups. But despite their huge number, sociologists distinguish several main types of social groups, which will be discussed in this article.
First of all, you need to have a clear understanding of the meaning of this term. Social group - a set of people who have one or more unifying features that have social significance. Participation in any activity becomes another factor of unification. It must be understood that society is not seen as an indivisible whole, but as an association of social groups that constantly interact and influence each other. Any person is a member of at least several of them: family, work team, etc.
The reasons for creating such groups may be the similarity of interests or goals pursued, as well as the understanding that when creating such a group, you can achieve more results in less time than one by one.
One of the important concepts when considering the main types of social groups is the reference group. This is a really existing or imaginary association of people, which is an ideal for a person. The term was first used by the American sociologist Hyman. The reference group is so important because it influences the individual:
Quasi-groups are randomly formed and short-lived communities. Another name is mass communities. Accordingly, several differences can be identified:
Man as a social being interacts with a large number of social groups. Moreover, they are completely diverse in composition, organization and pursued goals. Therefore, it became necessary to identify which types of social groups belong to the main ones:
All these types of social groups of people will be considered in detail separately.
The primary group is one in which communication between people is of a high emotional nature. Usually it consists of a small number of participants. It is the link that connects the individual directly with society. For example, family, friends.
A secondary group is one in which there are many more participants than the previous group, and where interactions between people are needed to achieve a certain task. Relations here, as a rule, are impersonal in nature, since the main emphasis is on the ability to perform the necessary actions, and not on character traits and emotional ties. For example, a political party, a work collective.
A formal group is one that has a certain legal status. Relations between people are regulated by a certain system of norms and rules. There is a clearly fixed goal and there is a hierarchical structure. Any actions are performed in accordance with the established procedure. For example, the scientific community, a sports group.
An informal group, as a rule, arises spontaneously. The reason may be a commonality of interests or views. Compared to a formal group, it has no official rules and no legal status in society. Also, there is no formal leader among the participants. For example, a friendly company, lovers of classical music.
Ingroup - a person feels a direct belonging to this group and perceives it as his own. For example, "my family", "my friends".
An outgroup is a group to which a person is not related, respectively, there is an identification as “foreign”, “other”. Absolutely every person has their own outgroup evaluation system: from a neutral attitude to an aggressive-hostile one. Most sociologists prefer to use the grading system, the social distance scale, created by the American sociologist Emory Bogardus. Examples: "someone else's family", "not my friends".
A small group is a small group of people that comes together to achieve some result. For example, a student group, a school class.
The fundamental forms of this group are the forms "diad" and "triad". They can be called bricks of this group. A dyad is an association in which 2 people participate, and a triad consists of three people. The latter is considered more stable than the dyad.
Features of a small group:
A large group is one that has a large number of members. The purpose of the association and interaction of people, as a rule, is clearly fixed and clear to each member of the group. It is not limited by the number of people included in it. Also, there is no constant personal contact and mutual influence between individuals. For example, the peasant class, the working class.
Real groups are groups that stand out according to some socially important criteria. For instance:
Nominal groups are singled out according to one common feature for conducting various sociological studies or statistical accounting of a certain category of the population. For example, find out the number of mothers raising children alone.
Based on these examples of types of social groups, one can clearly see that absolutely every person has a connection with them or interacts in them.
Man is part of society. Therefore, throughout his life he contacts or is a member of many groups. But despite their huge number, social ...
Man is part of society. Therefore, throughout his life he contacts or is a member of many groups. But despite their huge number, sociologists distinguish several main types of social groups, which will be discussed in this article.
First of all, you need to have a clear understanding of the meaning of this term. Social group - a set of people who have one or more unifying features that have social significance. Participation in any activity becomes another factor of unification. It must be understood that society is not seen as an indivisible whole, but as an association of social groups that constantly interact and influence each other. Any person is a member of at least several of them: family, work team, etc.
The reasons for creating such groups may be the similarity of interests or goals pursued, as well as the understanding that when creating such a group, you can achieve more results in less time than one by one.
One of the important concepts when considering the main types of social groups is the reference group. This is a really existing or imaginary association of people, which is an ideal for a person. The term was first used by the American sociologist Hyman. The reference group is so important because it influences the individual:
Quasi-groups are randomly formed and short-lived communities. Another name is mass communities. Accordingly, several differences can be identified:
Man as a social being interacts with a large number of social groups. Moreover, they are completely diverse in composition, organization and pursued goals. Therefore, it became necessary to identify which types of social groups belong to the main ones:
All these types of social groups of people will be considered in detail separately.
The primary group is the one in which communication between people is of a high emotional nature. Usually it consists of a small number of participants. It is the link that connects the individual directly with society. For example, family, friends.
A secondary group is one in which there are many more participants than the previous group, and where interactions between people are needed to achieve a certain task. Relations here, as a rule, are impersonal in nature, since the main emphasis is on the ability to perform the necessary actions, and not on character traits and emotional ties. For example, a political party, a work collective.
A formal group is one that has a certain legal status. Relations between people are regulated by a certain system of norms and rules. There is a clearly fixed goal and there is a hierarchical structure. Any actions are performed in accordance with the established procedure. For example, the scientific community, a sports group.
An informal group, as a rule, arises spontaneously. The reason may be a commonality of interests or views. Compared to a formal group, it has no official rules and no legal status in society. Also, there is no formal leader among the participants. For example, a friendly company, lovers of classical music.
Ingroup - a person feels a direct belonging to this group and perceives it as his own. For example, "my family", "my friends".
An outgroup is a group to which a person is not related, respectively, there is an identification as “foreign”, “other”. Absolutely every person has their own outgroup evaluation system: from a neutral attitude to an aggressive-hostile one. Most sociologists prefer to use the assessment system - the scale of social distance, created by the American sociologist Emory Bogardus. Examples: "someone else's family", "not my friends".
A small group is a small group of people that comes together to achieve some result. For example, a student group, a school class.
The fundamental forms of this group are the forms "diad" and "triad". They can be called bricks of this group. A dyad is an association in which 2 people participate, and a triad consists of three people. The latter is considered more stable than the dyad.
Features of a small group:
A large group is one that has a large number of members. The purpose of the association and interaction of people, as a rule, is clearly fixed and clear to each member of the group. It is not limited by the number of people included in it. Also, there is no constant personal contact and mutual influence between individuals. For example, the peasant class, the working class.
Real groups are groups that stand out according to some socially important criteria. For instance:
The concept of "social group" is one of the most important for sociology, and, from this point of view, it can be compared with such sociological concepts as social structure and social institution. At the same time, the widespread use of this concept makes it very vague. It is used in various senses, which cannot always be reduced to a common denominator. However, one can try to give the following definition: social group - an association of people who are connected by common relations, regulated by special social institutions, and have common goals, norms, values and traditions, and are also united by common activities. A social group is also understood in some cases as an association of people on some significant social basis.
A social group has a number of characteristics that are very important in terms of its integrity:
· in a social group there should be a more or less stable interaction, due to which the ties between the members of the group become stronger and last for a long time;
The social group must be sufficiently homogeneous in its composition, that is, all its members must have a certain set of features that are valuable from the point of view of the group and allow its members to feel more united;
The social group in the vast majority of cases belongs to wider social groups and communities.
According to N. Smelzer, groups perform the following functions:
1) they participate in socialization, i.e., they contribute to the fact that a person learns the skills necessary for social life, as well as the norms and values \u200b\u200bshared by the group and society as a whole;
2) they contribute to the organization of joint activities of people, that is, they perform an instrumental function;
3) they can also perform a supportive function in case people come together in a difficult situation or to solve a problem that they cannot solve alone;
4) groups perform an emotional function, give their members the opportunity to satisfy emotional needs (needs for warmth, respect, understanding, trust, communication, etc.).
In sociology, there are many classifications of social groups according to various criteria. Depending on the density, the form of implementation of the connections and interactions of their constituent members, and the functional role, primary and secondary, small and large, formal and informal, referential and other social groups are distinguished.
Primary social groups play the most important role in social life and in the life of each individual. Primary group - a social community characterized by a high level of emotional intimacy and social solidarity.
The characteristic features of the primary social group are: small size, spatial proximity of members, duration of existence, common group values of norms and patterns of behavior, voluntary entry into the group, informal control over the behavior of members.
The term "primary groups" was introduced into sociology by C. Cooley. A distinctive feature of these groups, according to Cooley, is the direct, interpersonal contact of their members, which is characterized by a high level of emotionality. These groups are "primary" in the sense that it is through them that individuals get their first experience of social unity. An example of primary social groups is a family, a school class, a student group, a group of friends, etc. Through the primary group, the initial socialization of individuals is carried out, they master patterns of behavior, social norms, values and ideals. We can say that it is she who plays the role of the primary link between the individual and society. It is through it that a person realizes his belonging to certain social communities, through it he participates in the life of the whole society.
Secondary social group- a social community, social connection and interaction in which are impersonal, utilitarian and functional. The primary group is always oriented towards the relationships between its members, while the secondary group is goal oriented. In these groups, individually unique personality traits are not of particular importance, but the ability to perform certain functions is more valued. Without a doubt, the secondary group can function in conditions of close emotional ties, friendships, but the main principle of its existence is the performance of specific functions, it is focused on achieving a specific goal. To understand the differences between primary and secondary social groups, consider the example of football teams. An example of a primary group is the so-called "yard team". It consists of people whose goal is to spend their leisure time, stretch, communicate, etc. Such teams can participate in certain championships, tournaments, but achieving high sports results, especially making money, is not their main task. An example of a secondary social group is football players, whose activities and everything connected with it (values, norms, etc.) are focused on obtaining a high sports result.
Primary groups are a kind of small social groups. Small social group - This is a small group in composition, whose members are united by common activities, interests, goals and are in direct stable communication with each other. The minimum size of a small group is two people (dyad). The maximum size of a small group can be up to 2-4 dozen people.
Small groups, most often, are the same primary groups: family, circle of friends, sports team, primary production team - brigade, etc. They are characterized by close, emotionally colored, informal relationships. In small groups as primary groups, group opinion is of great importance for the implementation of joint activities and relationships. Personal contacts allow all members of the group to participate in the development of group opinion and control the behavior of its members.
The size of the group significantly affects the quality of social interaction. With an increase in the number of people in a group, the possibility of constant personal contacts between all its members disappears. Due to the lack of personal contacts, the ability to develop a common group opinion is reduced, group self-identification is weakened. People are no longer aware of their belonging to a single community. To reflect the uniqueness of interaction depending on the quantitative composition, along with the concept of small social groups in sociology, there is the concept of a large social group. Large social groups or commonality - this is a stable set of a significant number of persons acting jointly, in solidarity in socially significant situations. Large groups include dozens, hundreds and even millions of members. These are classes, social strata, professional groups, national-ethnic communities (nationality, nation, race), demographic associations (men, women, youth, pensioners), etc. Due to their large number, members of these groups can be separated in time and space and not engage in direct communication with each other. Nevertheless, due to a number of factors that unite them, they constitute a certain group community. Belonging to one or another large social group is determined on the basis of a set of socially significant features. As noted earlier, a small social group can be both primary and secondary, a large social group can only be secondary.
Depending on the presence or absence of an official legal status and the nature of relations associated with this, social groups are divided into formal and informal. V formal group the position and behavior of individual members are regulated by normative documents (legal norms, charters, rules, service instructions, etc.). Formal groups are created to fulfill special goals, a certain range of tasks, in the solution of which this or that community is interested. Thus, a school is created for the purpose of educating and socializing the younger generation, an army for the defense of the country, an enterprise for the production of certain products and generating income, etc. A formal group is a secondary group. It can be either a large or a small group according to the number of participants.
informal groups are a kind of small groups, they arise most often spontaneously. They are characterized by friendly trusting relationships between their members. In these groups, there is no rigid fixing of a place in the division of labor, roles and social positions with their inherent rights and obligations. The contacts of the members of an informal group are of a pronounced personal nature; the sympathies, habits, and interests of its members act as a rallying factor. Order is based on tradition, respect, authority. Social control is carried out with the help of informal norms, customs and traditions, the content of which depends on the level of cohesion of the group, the degree of its closeness to members of other social groups.
A special kind of social groups are reference groups. A reference group is considered to be a group that, by virtue of its authority for an individual, is capable of exerting a strong influence on him. Otherwise, this group can be called reference. An individual may aspire to become a member of this group, and his activity is usually directed towards being more like its members. Such a phenomenon is called anticipatory socialization. In the usual case, socialization proceeds in the process of direct interaction within the framework of the primary group. In this case, the individual adopts the characteristics and modes of action characteristic of groups even before he has entered into interaction with its members.
Objective and subjective social groups are distinguished according to the given position: objective groups - these are groups that unite people regardless of their desire and will, for example, socio-demographic communities: children, women, etc. Subjective groups - these are groups of people that arise on the basis of their conscious choice. If a person decides to go to college, then naturally he voluntarily and consciously joins the student group.
durable and fleeting social groups. According to the time of existence, social groups are divided into durable groups groups that have existed for a long time, and transient - groups that exist for a short period of time.
The whole variety of social groups can be classified into the following types:
By type of main activity and main function - production and labor, socio-political, educational, executive-compulsory, family, military, sports, gaming;
in terms of social orientation socially useful, socially unsafe;
As far as organization unorganized, random groups, targeted, externally organized, internally organized;
By the type of degree of order and regulation of relations - formal, informal;
In terms of the level of direct impact on the individual - primary-secondary, main-non-basic, reference;
As far as openness, communication with other groups - open, closed;
according to the level of strength and stability of internal connections - united, slightly united, disconnected;
By duration of existence short term, long term.
Thus, society in its concrete life reality acts as a set of many social groups. The whole life of a person from birth to death takes place in these groups. A social group is a kind of intermediary between an individual and society.
The group is very important for a person. First of all, it is the group that provides a connection between a person and society. A person learns values due to the fact that his life is connected with other people - members of those groups in which he is a member. Even if a person opposes himself to society, this usually happens because he has adopted the values of his group.
In addition, the group also influences the personal qualities of a person, character, speech, thinking, interests, which, it would seem, are purely individual and have nothing to do with the social dimension of human existence. The child forms these qualities by communicating with parents, friends, relatives.
At the same time, a specific person, of course, cannot be reduced to membership in one group, since he certainly belongs to a sufficiently large number of groups at once. And indeed, we can distribute people into groups in many ways: by belonging to a confession; by income level; in terms of their attitude to sports, art, etc.
Belonging to a group implies that a person has some characteristics that, from the point of view of the group, are valuable and significant. The "core" of the group is formed by those members who have these characteristics to the greatest extent. The remaining members of the group form its periphery.
In a group, norms, rules, customs, traditions, rituals, ceremonies are born, in other words, the foundation of social life is laid. Man needs and depends on the group, perhaps more so than monkeys, rhinos, wolves, or molluscs. People survive only together.
Thus, the isolated individual is the exception rather than the rule. A person does not think of himself outside the group. He is a member of the family, student class, youth party, production team, sports team, etc.
Social groups are a kind of "engines" of social development, without their efforts no changes in society can take place. The quality of the functioning of all social institutions at a given historical moment also depends on the nature of social groups.
The type of society, its socio-political and state structure depends on which groups a society consists of, which of them occupy a leading position, which subordinates.
Rice. 5. Typology of social groups
social structure
social structure- a set of interrelated elements that make up the internal structure of society. The concept of "social structure" is used both in the concept of society as a social system, in which the social structure provides an internal order for connecting elements, and the environment establishes the external boundaries of the system, and in describing society through the category of social space. In the latter case, the social structure is understood as the unity of functionally interconnected social positions and social fields.
Apparently, the first to use the term "social structure" was Alexis Tocqueville, a French thinker, politician and statesman, one of the founders of liberal political theory. Later, Karl Marx, Herbert Spencer, Max Weber, Ferdinand Tönnies and Emile Durkheim contributed greatly to the creation of the structural concept in sociology.
One of the earliest and most comprehensive analyzes of the social structure was carried out by K. Marx, who showed the dependence of the political, cultural, and religious aspects of life on the mode of production (the basic structure of society). Marx argued that the economic basis determines to a large extent the cultural and political superstructure of society. Subsequent Marxist theorists, such as L. Althusser, proposed more complex relationships, believing that cultural and political institutions are relatively autonomous and dependent on economic factors only in the final analysis (“in the last resort”). But the Marxist view of the social structure of society was not the only one. Emile Durkheim introduced the idea that various social institutions and practices played an important role in ensuring the functional integration of society into a social structure that unites various parts into a single whole. In this context, Durkheim identified two forms of structural relationships: mechanical and organic solidarities.
The structure of the social system
The structure of a social system is a way of interconnecting the subsystems, components and elements interacting in it, ensuring its integrity. The main elements (social units) of the social structure of society are social communities, social institutions, social groups and social organizations.
The social system, according to T. Parsons, must meet certain requirements (AGIL), namely:
A. - must be adapted to the environment (adaptation);
G. - she must have goals (goal achievement);
I. - all its elements must be coordinated (integration);
L. - the values in it must be preserved (maintenance of the sample).
T. Parsons believes that society is a special type of social system with high specialization and self-sufficiency. Its functional unity is provided by social subsystems. To the social subsystems of society, as a system, T. Parsons refers to the following: economics (adaptation), politics (goal achievement), culture (maintenance of the model). The function of the integration of society is performed by the system of "societal community", which mainly contains the structures of norms.
social group
social group- an association of people who have a common significant social attribute based on their participation in some activity associated with a system of relations that are regulated by formal or informal social institutions.
The word "group" entered the Russian language at the beginning of the 19th century. from Italian (it. groppo, or gruppo - knot) as a technical term for painters, used to refer to several figures that make up a composition. This is how his dictionary of foreign words of the early 19th century explains it, which, among other overseas “curiosities”, contains the word “group” as an ensemble, a composition of “figures that make up the whole, and so adapted that the eye looks at them at once.”
The first written appearance of the French word groupe, from which its English and German equivalents later derive, dates from 1668. Thanks to Moliere, a year later, this word penetrates into literary speech, while still retaining a technical coloring. The wide penetration of the term "group" into various fields of knowledge, its truly common character creates the appearance of its "transparency", that is, understandability and accessibility. It is most often used in relation to certain human communities as aggregates of people united according to a number of characteristics by some kind of spiritual substance (interest, purpose, awareness of their community, etc.). Meanwhile, the sociological category "social group" is one of the most difficult to understand due to a significant divergence from everyday ideas. A social group is not just a collection of people united on formal or informal grounds, but a group social position that people occupy.
signs
Generality of needs.
Availability of joint activities.
Formation of own culture.
Social identification of community members, their self-assignment to this community.
Group types
There are large, medium and small groups.
V large groups includes aggregates of people that exist on the scale of the whole society as a whole: these are social strata, professional groups, ethnic communities (nations, nationalities), age groups (youth, pensioners), etc. Awareness of belonging to a social group and, accordingly, its interests as one’s own occurs gradually, as organizations are formed that protect the interests of the group (for example, the struggle of workers for their rights and interests through workers' organizations).
TO middle groups include production associations of employees of enterprises, territorial communities (residents of the same village, city, district, etc.).
To the manifold small groups include such groups as family, friendly companies, neighborhood communities. They are distinguished by the presence of interpersonal relationships and personal contacts with each other.
One of the earliest and most famous classifications of small groups into primary and secondary was given by the American sociologist C.H. Cooley, where he distinguished between them. "Primary (basic) group" refers to those personal relationships that are direct, face-to-face, relatively permanent, and deep, such as family relationships, a group of close friends, and the like. "Secondary groups" (a phrase that Cooley did not actually use, but which appeared later) refers to all other face-to-face relationships, but especially to such groups or associations as industrial, in which a person relates to others through formal , often a legal or contractual relationship.
Structure of social groups
Structure is a structure, device, organization. The structure of a group is a way of interconnection, mutual arrangement of its constituent parts, elements of a group that form a stable social structure, or a configuration of social relations.
An active large group has its own internal structure: a "core" and a "periphery" with a gradual weakening as the essential properties move away from the core, by which individuals identify themselves and this group is nominated, that is, by which it is separated from other groups distinguished by a certain criterion. .
Specific individuals may not have all the essential features of the subjects of a given community; they constantly move in their status complex (repertoire of roles) from one position to another. The core of any group is relatively stable, it consists of the bearers of these essential features - professionals of symbolic representation. In other words, the core of the group is a set of typical individuals who most consistently combine the nature of its activities, the structure of needs, norms, attitudes and motivations that people identify with this social group. That is, the agents occupying the position must take shape as a social organization, social community, or social corps, possessing an identity (recognized ideas about themselves) and mobilized around a common interest.
Therefore, the core is a concentrated expression of all the social properties of the group, which determine its qualitative difference from all others. There is no such core - there is no group itself. At the same time, the composition of the individuals included in the “tail” of the group is constantly changing due to the fact that each individual occupies many social positions and can move from one position to another situationally, due to demographic movement (age, death, illness, etc.). or as a result of social mobility.
A real group has not only its own structure or construction, but also its own composition (and also decomposition). Composition– organization of social space and its perception. The composition of a group is a combination of its elements that form a harmonious unity that ensures the integrity of the image of its perception as a social group. The composition of the group is usually determined through indicators of social status.
Decomposition- the opposite operation or process of dividing a composition into elements, parts, indicators. The decomposition of a social group is carried out by projection onto various social fields and positions. Often the composition (decomposition) of a group is identified with a set of its demographic and professional parameters, which is not entirely true. It is not the parameters themselves that are important here, but to the extent that they characterize the status-role position of the group and act as social filters that allow it to exercise social distancing so as not to merge, not be "blurred" or absorbed by other positions.
Functions of social groups
There are various approaches to classifying the functions of social groups. The American sociologist N. Smelser identifies the following functions of groups:
Socialization: only in a group can a person ensure his survival and the upbringing of the younger generations;
instrumental: consists in the implementation of a particular activity of people;
Expressive: consists in meeting people's needs for approval, respect and trust;
supportive: consists in the fact that people tend to unite in difficult situations for them.
Social groups at present
A feature of social groups in countries with developed economies at present is their mobility, the openness of the transition from one social group to another. The convergence of the level of culture and education of various socio-professional groups leads to the formation of common socio-cultural needs and thereby creates conditions for the gradual integration of social groups, their value systems, their behavior and motivation. As a result, we can state the renewal and expansion of the most characteristic in the modern world - the middle stratum (middle class).
group dynamics
group dynamics- the processes of interaction between members of the group, as well as the scientific direction that studies these processes, the founder of which is Kurt Lewin. Kurt Lewin coined the term group dynamics to describe the positive and negative processes that take place in a social group. Group dynamics, in his opinion, should consider issues related to the nature of groups, the patterns of their development and improvement, the interaction of groups with individuals, other groups and institutional formations. In 1945, Levin founded the Group Dynamics Research Center at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Since the members of the group interact and influence each other, processes arise in the group that distinguish it from the totality of individuals. Among these processes:
-formation of subgroups according to interests;
-the emergence of leaders and their departure into the shadows;
- making group decisions;
-cohesion and conflicts in the group;
-changing the roles of group members;
- impact on behavior;
- the need for connection;
- disintegration of the group.
Group dynamics is used in business trainings, group therapy, using an agile software development methodology.
Quasigroup (sociology)
A quasi-group is a sociological term that refers to a social group characterized by unintentionality, in which there are no stable ties and social structure between members, no common values and norms, and relationships are one-sided. Quasi-groups exist for a short time, after which they either completely disintegrate, or, under the influence of circumstances, turn into stable social groups, often being their transitional type.
Features of quasigroups
Anonymity
Suggestibility
Social contagion
unconsciousness
The spontaneity of education
Relationship instability
Lack of diversity in interaction (either it is only the reception / transmission of information, or only an expression of one's disagreement or delight)
The short duration of joint actions
Types of quasigroups
Lecture hall
Fan group
social circles
The concept of a social group. Types of social groups.
Society is a collection of various groups. A social group is the foundation of human society, and society itself is also a social group, only the largest. The number of social groups on Earth exceeds the number of individuals, because one person is able to be in several groups at once. A social group is usually understood as any set of people who have a common social attribute.
