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In the
social science Social science is one of the branches of science, devoted to the study of societies and the relationships among individuals within those societies. The term was formerly used to refer to the field of sociology, the original "science of s ...
s, social groups can be categorized based on the various
group dynamics Group dynamics is a system of behaviors and psychological processes occurring within a social group (''intra''group dynamics), or between social groups ( ''inter''group dynamics). The study of group dynamics can be useful in understanding decision- ...
that define
social organization In sociology, a social organization is a pattern of relationships between and among individuals and social groups. Characteristics of social organization can include qualities such as sexual composition, spatiotemporal cohesion, leadership, s ...
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Types of Social Groups
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 terms, groups can fundamentally be distinguished from one another by the extent to which their nature influence individuals and how. A ''primary group'', for instance, is a small social group whose members share close, personal, enduring relationships with one another (e.g. family, childhood friend). By contrast, a ''secondary group'' is one in which interactions are more impersonal than in a primary group and are typically based on shared interests, activities, and/or achieving a purpose outside the relationship itself (e.g. coworkers, schoolmates). Four basic types of groups have traditionally been recognized: primary groups, secondary groups, collective groups, and categories.Donelson R. Forsyth">Forsyth, Donelson R. 2009. ''Group Dynamics'' (5th ed.). New York: Wadsworth publishing">Wadsworth. .Litwak, Eugene, and Iván Szelényi">Ivan Szelenyi. 1969.
Primary Group Structures and Their Functions: Kin, Neighbors, and Friends
" ''American Sociological Review'' 34(4):465–81. . – via ResearchGate
Udru Helps


Primary and secondary groups

The distinction between primary and secondary groups serves to identify between two orders of social organization.


Primary groups

A
primary group
' is typically a small
social group In the social sciences, a social group can be defined as two or more people who interact with one another, share similar characteristics, and collectively have a sense of unity. Regardless, social groups come in a myriad of sizes and varieties ...
whose members share close, personal, enduring relationships in which one exchanges implicit items, such as love, caring, concern, support, etc. These groups are often long-lasting and marked by members' concern for one another, where the goal is actually the relationship themselves rather than achieving another purpose. In general, they are also psychologically comforting to the individuals involved, providing a source of support. As such, primary groups or lack thereof play an important role in the development of
personal identity Personal identity is the unique numerical identity of a person over time. Discussions regarding personal identity typically aim to determine the necessary and sufficient conditions under which a person at one time and a person at another time ca ...
, and can be understood as tight circles composed of people such as family, long-term romances, crisis-support group, church group, etc. The concept of the primary group was first introduced in 1909 by sociologist
Charles Cooley Charles Horton Cooley (August 17, 1864 – May 7, 1929) was an American sociologist and the son of Michigan Supreme Court Judge Thomas M. Cooley. He studied and went on to teach economics and sociology at the University of Michigan, was a foundi ...
, a member of the famed Chicago school of sociology, through a book titled ''Social Organization: A Study of the Larger Mind''. Although Cooley had initially proposed the term to denote the first intimate group of an individual's childhood, the classification would later extend to include other intimate relations. Additionally, three sub-groups of primary groups can be also identified: # Kin (relatives) # Close friends # Neighbours


Secondary groups (social groups)

A
secondary group
' is a relatively larger group composed of impersonal and goal-oriented relationships, which are often temporary. These groups are often based on achieving a common purpose outside of the relationship itself and involve much less emotional investment. Since secondary groups are established to perform functions, individual roles are more interchangeable, thus members are able to leave and outgroup are able to join with relative ease. Such groups can be understood to be ones in which individuals exchange explicit commodities (e.g. labour for wage, service for payment, etc.). Examples include study groups, sports teams, schoolmates, attorney-client, doctor-patient, coworkers, etc. Cooley had made the distinction between primary and secondary groups, by noting that the term for the latter refers to relationships that generally develop later in life, likely with much less influence on one’s identity than primary groups.


Collectives

A ''collective'' is a large group of individuals whose relationships to one another are loosely formed, spontaneous, and brief. Members are generally connected through performing similar actions or possessing similar outlooks. As they only exist for a very brief period of time, it is very easy for an out-group member to become an in-group member and vice versa. Examples of collectives include audiences to a show, bystanders, people at the park, etc.


Categories

''Categories'' are characterized by an aggregate of individuals who share something in common, but only become groups when their similarities have social implications. Categories can appear to be higher in
entitativity {{Use American English, date = February 2019 Entitativity is the perception of a social unit as a " group" (Blanchard et al, 2020; Campbell, 1958; Lickel et al, 2000). For example, one may pass by a bus stop and perceive a group of people waiting ...
and
essentialism Essentialism is the view that objects have a set of attributes that are necessary to their identity. In early Western thought, Plato's idealism held that all things have such an "essence"—an "idea" or "form". In ''Categories'', Aristotle sim ...
than primary, secondary, and collective groups. This group is generally the largest type of such, where members can be either permanently or temporarily in-group. Categories can include individuals with the same ethnicity, gender, religion, or nationality. For example,
Torontonians Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...
, women, and
gamer A gamer is a proactive hobbyist who plays interactive games, especially video games, tabletop role-playing games, and skill-based card games, and who plays for usually long periods of time. Some gamers are competitive, meaning they routin ...
s can all be characterized as ''categories''. Campbell (1958) famously defines ''entitativity'' as the extent to which collections of individuals are perceived to be a group. Campbell, Donald T. 1958.
Common Fate, Similarity and other Indices of the Status of Aggregates of Persons as Social Entities
" ''
Systems Research and Behavioral Science ''Systems Research and Behavioral Science'' is a scientific journal for theory and research in the fields of systems sciences. It is the official publication of the International Federation for Systems Research. ''Systems Research and Behavioral ...
'' 3(1):14–25. . – via
University of Bern The University of Bern (german: Universität Bern, french: Université de Berne, la, Universitas Bernensis) is a university in the Swiss capital of Bern and was founded in 1834. It is regulated and financed by the Canton of Bern. It is a compreh ...
. Retrieved April 24, 2020. The degree of entitativity that a group has is influenced by whether a collection of individuals experience the same fate, display similarities, and are close in proximity. If individuals believe that a group is high in entitativity, then they are likely to believe that the group has unchanging characteristics that are essential to the group, known as essentialism.


Reference groups

A reference group is a group to which an individual or another group is compared, used by sociologists in reference to any group that is used by an individual as a standard for evaluating themselves and their own behavior. More simply, as explained by Thompson and Hickey (2005), such groups are ones "that people refer to when evaluating their wnqualities, circumstances, attitudes, values and behaviors." Reference groups are used in order to evaluate and determine the nature of a given individual or other group's characteristics and sociological attributes. It is the group to which the individual relates or aspires to relate him or herself psychologically. It becomes the individual's frame of reference and source for ordering his or her experiences, perceptions, cognition, and ideas of self. It is important for determining a person's self-identity, attitudes, and social ties. It becomes the basis of reference in making comparisons or contrasts and in evaluating one's appearance and performance. Reference groups provide the benchmarks and contrast needed for comparison and evaluation of group and personal characteristics.
Robert K. Merton Robert King Merton (born Meyer Robert Schkolnick; July 4, 1910 – February 23, 2003) was an American sociologist who is considered a founding father of modern sociology, and a major contributor to the subfield of criminology. He served as th ...
hypothesized that individuals compare themselves with reference groups of people who occupy the social role to which the individual aspires. Holton, Gerald. 2004.
Robert K. Merton – Biographical Memoirs
" ''
Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society ''Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society'' is a quarterly journal published by the American Philosophical Society since 1838. The journal contains papers which have been read at meetings of the American Philosophical Society each April ...
'' 148(4):506–17. Archived from th
original
on 2007-08-11. Retrieved 7 August 2007.
ertondeveloped a theory of the reference group (i.e., the group to which individuals compare themselves, which is not necessarily a group to which those individuals belong), and elaborated on the concepts of
in-group and out-group In sociology and social psychology, an in-group is a social group to which a person psychologically identifies as being a member. By contrast, an out-group is a social group with which an individual does not identify. People may for example ide ...
. For any group of people there are always other groups whom they look upon to and aspire to be like them.
Such groups act as a frame of reference to which people always refer to evaluate their achievements, their role performance, aspirations and ambitions. A reference group can be either from a membership group or non-membership group. An example of a reference group being used would be the determination of affluence. An individual in the U.S. with an annual income of $80,000, may consider themself
affluent Wealth is the abundance of valuable financial assets or physical possessions which can be converted into a form that can be used for transactions. This includes the core meaning as held in the originating Old English word , which is from an I ...
if they compare themself to those in the middle of the income strata, who earn roughly $32,000 a year. If, however, the same person considers the relevant reference group to be those in the top 0.1% of households in the US, those making $1.6 million or more, then the individual's income of $80,000 would make them consider themself as rather poor.Chapman, Jamie. 2005.
Record number of US millionaires
" ''
World Socialist Web Site The World Socialist Web Site (WSWS) is the website of the International Committee of the Fourth International (ICFI). It describes itself as an "online newspaper of the international Trotskyist movement". The WSWS publishes articles and analys ...
''. UK: International Committee of the Fourth International.


Examples

* Basic groups: The smallest possible social group with defined number of people (i.e. greater than 1)—often associated with family building: ** Dyad: A group of two people. Social interaction in a dyad is typically more intense than in larger groups as neither member shares the other's attention with anyone else.Macionis, John, and Linda Gerber. 2010. ''Sociology'' (7th Canadian ed.) Toronto:
Pearson Canada Pearson Education is a British-owned education publishing and assessment service to schools and corporations, as well for students directly. Pearson owns educational media brands including Addison–Wesley, Peachpit, Prentice Hall, eCollege, ...
. (See also
couple Couple or couples may refer to : Basic meaning *Couple (app), a mobile app which provides a mobile messaging service for two people *Couple (mechanics), a system of forces with a resultant moment but no resultant force *Couple (relationship), tw ...
.) ** Triad: A group of three people. Triads are generally more stable than dyads because one member can act as a mediator should the relationship between the other two become strained. *
Family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...
,
Household A household consists of two or more persons who live in the same dwelling. It may be of a single family or another type of person group. The household is the basic unit of analysis in many social, microeconomic and government models, and is i ...
: Small group of people who live in the same
home A home, or domicile, is a space used as a permanent or semi-permanent residence for one or many humans, and sometimes various companion animals. It is a fully or semi sheltered space and can have both interior and exterior aspects to it. ...
. Family may or may not form
clan A clan is a group of people united by actual or perceived kinship and descent. Even if lineage details are unknown, clans may claim descent from founding member or apical ancestor. Clans, in indigenous societies, tend to be endogamous, mea ...
, fellowship, larger
kinship In anthropology, kinship is the web of social relationships that form an important part of the lives of all humans in all societies, although its exact meanings even within this discipline are often debated. Anthropologist Robin Fox says that ...
groups, or a basic unit of community. Various cultures include different models of households, including the
nuclear family A nuclear family, elementary family, cereal-packet family or conjugal family is a family group consisting of parents and their children (one or more), typically living in one home residence. It is in contrast to a single-parent family, the larg ...
,
blended families A stepfamily is a family where at least one parent has children that are not biologically related to their spouse. Either parent, or both, may have children from previous relationships or marriages. Two known classifications for stepfamilies i ...
, share housing, and group homes. *
Crew A crew is a body or a class of people who work at a common activity, generally in a structured or hierarchical organization. A location in which a crew works is called a crewyard or a workyard. The word has nautical resonances: the tasks involved ...
or Band: Small group of skilled people with common interest; a rowing crew; a
music band A rock band or pop band is a small musical ensemble that performs rock music, pop music, or a related genre. A four-piece band is the most common configuration in rock and pop music. In the early years, the configuration was typically two guita ...
; construction crew; subunit of a
tribe The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide usage of the term in English is in the discipline of anthropology. This definition is contested, in part due to confl ...
as
band society A band society, sometimes called a camp, or in older usage, a horde, is the simplest form of human society. A band generally consists of a small kin group, no larger than an extended family or clan. The general consensus of modern anthropolo ...
. *
Peer group In sociology, a peer group is both a social group and a primary group of people who have similar interests ( homophily), age, background, or social status. The members of this group are likely to influence the person's beliefs and behaviour. ...
: A group with members of approximately the same age, social status, and interests. Generally, people are relatively equal in terms of power when they interact with peers. *
Clique A clique ( AusE, CanE, or ), in the social sciences, is a group of individuals who interact with one another and share similar interests. Interacting with cliques is part of normative social development regardless of gender, ethnicity, or popular ...
: A group of people that have many of the same interests & commonly found in a high school/college setting; most of the time they have a name & rules for themselves. * Club: A group that usually requires one to apply to become a member. Such clubs may be dedicated to particular activities: sporting clubs, for example. *
Cabal A cabal is a group of people who are united in some close design, usually to promote their private views or interests in an ideology, a state, or another community, often by intrigue and usually unbeknownst to those who are outside their group. T ...
: A group of people united in some close design together, usually to promote their private views or interests in a church, state, or other community, often by intrigue. *
Community A community is a social unit (a group of living things) with commonality such as place, norms, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given geographical area (e.g. a country, village, t ...
: A group of people with a commonality or sometimes a complex net of overlapping commonalities, often—but not always—in proximity with one another with some degree of continuity over time. *
Gang A gang is a group or society of associates, friends or members of a family with a defined leadership and internal organization that identifies with or claims control over territory in a community and engages, either individually or collective ...
: Usually an urban group that gathers in a particular area. It is a group of people that often hang around each other. They can be like some clubs, but much less formal. They are usually known in many countries to cause social unrest and also have negative influence on the members and may be a target for the law enforcers in case of any social vices * Mob: Typically a group of people that has taken the law into their own hands. Mobs are usually groups which gather temporarily for a particular reason. * Posse: Originally found in English common law, posses are generally obsolete and survive only in the United States, where they are the law enforcement equivalent of summoning the militia for military purposes. However, posse can also refer to a street group. *
Squad In military terminology, a squad is among the smallest of military organizations and is led by a non-commissioned officer. NATO and US doctrine define a squad as an organization "larger than a team, but smaller than a section." while US Army d ...
: Generally a small group, of around 3 to 15 people, who work as a team to accomplish their goals. *
Team A team is a group of individuals (human or non-human) working together to achieve their goal. As defined by Professor Leigh Thompson of the Kellogg School of Management, " team is a group of people who are interdependent with respect to inf ...
: Similar to a squad, though a team may contain many more members. A team works in a similar way to a squad.


See also

*
Fandom A fandom is a subculture composed of fans characterized by a feeling of empathy and camaraderie with others who share a common interest. Fans typically are interested in even minor details of the objects of their fandom and spend a significant ...
* Gemeinschaft and Gesellschaft *
Group dynamics Group dynamics is a system of behaviors and psychological processes occurring within a social group (''intra''group dynamics), or between social groups ( ''inter''group dynamics). The study of group dynamics can be useful in understanding decision- ...
* Social complexity *
Social group In the social sciences, a social group can be defined as two or more people who interact with one another, share similar characteristics, and collectively have a sense of unity. Regardless, social groups come in a myriad of sizes and varieties ...
*
Social network A social network is a social structure made up of a set of social actors (such as individuals or organizations), sets of dyadic ties, and other social interactions between actors. The social network perspective provides a set of methods fo ...


References


Further reading

* Appelbaum, R. P., D. Carr, M. Duneir, and A. Giddens. 2009. "Conformity, Deviance, and Crime." ''Introduction to Sociology,'' New York: W. W. Norton & Company. p 137.


External links


McGraw Hill online Sociology Glossary
{{Authority control Social groups Sociological terminology