REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINE

OCCIDENTAL MINDORO STATE COLLEGE

Sitio Tuburan Poblacion Sablayan, Occidental Mindoro 5104
Website: www.omsc.edu.ph Email address: omsc_9747@yahoo.com
Tele/Fax: (043) 491-1460

BACHELOR OF SCIENCE IN INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

GENERAL SOCIOLOGY
Hand out #4 (Midterm)
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SOCIAL GROUP, SOCIAL INTERACTION AND SOCIAL PROCESSES

DEFINITION OF TERMS:
• SOCIAL GROUP
 Any system of social relationship in which members are united by a sense of
solidarity and by common purpose.
 They have a culture defining the rules and statuses by which members are
differentiated from non members.
• SOCIAL INTERACTIONS
 the process of defining and responding to various actions and relations of an
individual in a social situation
• SOCIAL PROCESSES
 Refers to any mutual interaction experienced by an individual or group on their
attempt to solve problems and achieved desired goals
• GROUP
 Is a unit of interacting personalities with an interdependence of roles and statuses
existing between the members
 The groups usually share some same beliefs, behavior, attitudes and actions based
on adopted norms and standards.
Characteristics of groups
• According to Denisof (1983)
1. The group interacts with each other's over period of time.
2. Each member identifies with the group and is recognized as a part of the group by other
members.
Importance of groups
• Groups are important due to the following reasons (Salcedo, et.al, 2011)
1. The group is transmitter of culture.
 The process of socialization carries a strong influence in the dissemination of
information within a group.
2. The group is a means of social control.
 Social control is the process which includes a person to imply with the collective
standards of action and belief. It includes the imposition of rules by the leaders of
the group in order for the members to conform to acceptable standards of the group.
3. The group socializes the individuals.
 The full development of a person start from where he/she is belongs.
4. The group is the source of fundamental ideas
 The daily interactions of the group’s members influence their thinking, feelings and
even their behaviour and actions.
5. The group trains the individual communications.
 The group is the source of information through communication of the members.

I. CLASSIFICATION OF GROUPS ACCORDING TO MEMBERSHIP:

• In- group
 An in- group refers to a group of people whose sense of belongingness is strong.
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  Ex. The alumni, organizations of students, batches, religious organizations and university
graduates
 Out- group
 The out- group is exactly the opposite of in- group. This group is made up of people whose
feelings are antagonistic to the group itself. There is physical membership but in mind and
heart, the members dislike the group because the concept of that another group is superior
to their group.
 An out- group is the stereotype where members of the group have specialized trademarks.
 Ex. Fraternities, sororities
 Reference group
 Group where people identify themselves physically and psychologically to which other
people refer in evaluating their behaviour and actions.
 The group becomes the individual’s frame of reference in relations to his / her
 Motivations, aspirations, experiences, attitudes and social affiliations.
Peer group
 Refers to small kind of groupings whose members have the same level, interests, and
economic standing in the community.
Voluntary association
 It is an organization where membership is free and voluntary.
 Ex. Military associations – non commercial societies whose goals are to unite members
through their common experiences.
II. ACCORDING TO THIER NATURE, FORM, OBJECTIVES AND INTERACTION:
• Informal Group
 It is the most common type of grouping based on nature, form, objectives and interaction
 It occurs when two or more people interact with each other on issues affecting their
welfare
• Formal Group
 Is an organization where the specific organizational structure is constructed to achieve
specific goals and objective
A formal organizations play s an important role in social interaction because of the
following reasons:
o It enables people to work harmoniously to achieve a common goal. Members of formal
organizations work not as individual but as a team with common goal following one
direction
o It defines the specific functions of each personnel in the organization
o It creates a level of authority as to the channelling of communication and follows the proper
in communication.
III. ACCORDING TO SOCIAL BOUNDRIES AND ADHERENCE TO SPECIAL SET
OF NORMS:
• Categorical group
 Refers to as social groupings where members tend to share certain characteristics and
interests and are aware of their similarities with other members in their own social
category.
• Aggregate Group
 Denotes a social grouping whose members stays in one place, but do not necessarily
interact with each others.
 The members of this group are concerned mainly with their own feelings and attitudes.
 Collective group
 Refers to crowds whose members are not governed with law or norms, but share the same
belief that motivates them to action.
 Associational Group
 Composed of group of people who organize themselves to form a common interest with
a formal organizational structure.

IV. ACCORDING TO INTERACTION AND RELATIONSHIP:

• Primary Group

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  Refers to small, informal group of people who interact in a more intimate manner and who
have a direct face to face communication with each other.
 It is characterized by Cooley as Nursery of human nature because it is the group where the
child socialized, acquires and experiences, love, affection, sympathy, kindness, tolerance,
fairness, loyalty and justice.
• Secondary Group
 Involves indirect, impersonal interactions where members are forced to interact because
of business transactions and the like
The importance of status and role in social interactions:
• Status-
 Refers to the position a person occupies in the group or in the society.
 Considered as one of the building blocks of social structure.
Classification of status
• 1. Ascribed Status
 a social position a person receives at birth or assumes involuntarily later in life
• 2. Achieved Status
 a position a person's voluntarily occupy that reflects their personal ability and efforts
• 3. Master status
 is the most important status occupied by an individual which affects almost every aspects
of his/ her day to day existence.
ROLE
 Is another component of social interaction. It refers to the behavior expected of someone
who holds a particular space.

KINDS OF ROLE
• Role Conflicts
 are difficulties that occur when incompatible expectations arises from two or more social
positions held by the same individuals
• Role Strain
 Refers to the tension among roles connected to a single status
• Role Exit
 a process when person starts to disengage from his / her particular role or social role.
 This is exemplified by the so- called “exes”
B. GROUP INTERACTION AND SOCIAL PROCESSES
• Group Interaction- is the process of defining and responding to various actions and relations of
individual in social situations.
 It provides a framework for dynamic social relationships
CLASSIFICATION OF SOCIAL INTERACTION
• Structural Interaction
 A structure consisting of a network of interrelating institutions
• Cultural Interaction
 Human being have devised a channel of interacting with their physical environment either
through linguistic or symbolic patterns
• Religious Interaction
 People are more receptive to innovations and changes if channelled through religious
organizations where they belong because of the influences they wield on their members
• Geographic Interaction
 Based on the geographical domains and its varying effects on social interaction.
CONCEPT OF SOCIAL PROCESSES
• Conjunctive Social Process- refers to a group‘s effort to maintain and practice consensus,
cooperation’s, unifications and integration in the group.
• Disjunctive Social Process- refers to a process where the member’s efforts are directed towards
disunity, disintegration, opposition and disorganization.

5 MAJOR CONJUNCTIVAL PROCESSES:

1. Cooperation – is sharing the responsibility or the act of working together in order to achieve a
common goal or vision
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 TYPES OF COOPERATION
• Informal cooperation- this is a spontaneous give and take relationship.
• Formal cooperation- set formal goals and objectives in social interaction. It is contractual in
nature with reciprocal rights and obligations of members.
 Symbiotic cooperation- where one or two members of society lives together
harmoniously and support one another for mutual relationship.
FUNCTIONS OF COOPERATION
• It creates social cohesions and integration among the members of the group
• It contributes social stability and order
• It fosters consensus and compromise in various social, economic and political issue
2. Accommodation- Adjustment of hostile individuals or groups. It is an adjustment to conflict
past, present and incipient.
• Refers to actual act of working together among individuals or group in spite of differences or latent
hostility.
3. Displacement-
• occurs when the source of frustration is vague and intangible or when the person responsible for
the frustration is so powerful that an attack would be dangerous, aggression maybe displaced and
the aggressive reactions may be directed to an innocent person or object rather than towards the
actual cause of frustrations
4. Super ordination- Sub ordination
 Woks only when it is impossible for one group to continue the aggression against the more
powerful group.
UNPLANNED FORMS OF ACCOMODATION
• Compromise-
 This is another of accommodation where extreme demands are given up to achieve limited
goals. This could be describe as either “loss - loss “or “win- win situation.
• Release from the hostility-
 Most individuals who are in trouble experience problems but will find ways to release their
worries trough relaxation by watching a movie, watching a movie, watching a basketball
game of their favourite PBA team
Toleration
 This occurs when both parties realize that a settlement of conflict is impossible. If an
agreement is not necessary to solve the problem, then the group will just let go or
accept each other’s rights to different actions to the problem’s resolution.
• Assimilation
 Refers to the process of interpretation and fusion on which persons and groups acquire
the memories, sentiments, and attitudes of other person or groups by sharing their
experiences and history, which are incorporated with them in a cultural life.
 Acculturation
 Is a process and effect of significant changes through mutual borrowings and adoptions
of people of different cultures in contact with some continuity.
II. DISJUNCTIVE SOCIAL PROCESS
 it occurs when two goals of equal importance (resources and opportunities) are scarce
CLASSIFICATION OF CONFLICT
1. War
 A destructive and violent way of to settle conflicts and disputes. This is resorted to by
men when have tensions and economic, demographic and technological differences
2. Feud
 this conflict is rampant among clans, fraternities and politics; it is triggered by feelings
of bitterness between parties or groups because of some injustice done to their
members
3. Litigation or Legal Battle
 This occurs when conflict between individuals or groups can no longer be resolved
amicably so it is taken to the courts where the judge presides on the merits of the case.
4. Conflict of Impersonal ideals
 This is carried on by individuals or groups for a principle or an ideal not for personal
benefit but for the group or society’s well being.
 Arbitration- is often used to settle labor disputes
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 5. Compromise
 Occurs when the conflicting parties agree to settle for less than their demand
objectives. It is difficult because both of the parties have to surrender their principles to
reach as agreement
II. Competition
 As a social process, competition may have a merit and demerit in human endeavor.
Competition is a form of opposition or struggle to secure reward or a material object, position,
leadership, prestige or power.
2 KINDS OF COMPETITION
Personal Competition
 This involves direct and face- face contact.
Impersonal competition
 This refers to individual or groups or business entities struggling, and directly not
aware of each other’s presence.
III. Differentiation
 Is a process eliminating competition. It is the creation of interest in individuals or groups
needing or wanting different things or services rather than the same thing.
FORMAL ORGANIZATIONS AND BUREAUCRACY

Formal organizations
• These are groups characterized by formally stated rules, clearly defined member’s role, and
distinct objectives
Types of Formal Organization
I. Utilitarian Organization
 The people join for practical reasons, it is a matter of individual choice, or to earn a living
II. Normative Organization
 Sometimes called voluntary association people join not for income but to pursue goals they
consider morally worthwhile.
III. Coercive Organization
 Where people are forced to join the organization as a form of punishments ot treatment
 They have distinctive physical features such as locked doors, and barred windows,
Moreover they are supervised by security personnel ( Goffman 1961)
The Concept of Bureaucracy
Bureaucracy
 Is a type of organization designed to accomplish large-scale administration tasks by
systematically coordinating the work of many individuals
 German sociologist Max Weber was the first scholar to describe the characteristics of
bureaucracy systematically. According to him it is the best form of organization.
Typical features of bureaucracy (Accdng. To Weber)
1. Clear- cut divisions of labor among the various officials
 Each member of the organization has specified job to do and concentrate on this special task
2. Hierarchy of authority within the organization
 The hierarchy takes the shape of pyramid, with greater authority for those for the
few at the top and less for many at the bottom.
 The scope of individual’s authority is clearly defined; each official takes orders from
the officials immediately above and takes responsibility for those immediately below
the hierarchy
3. Day- to- day functioning of the bureaucracy governed by an elaborate system of rules and
regulations
 Decisions are based on the rules and regulations.
4. Officials treating people as “cases” not as individuals.
 The member of the organization remains impersonal in their contact with the
public.
 They also adopt a detached attitude to other members of the organization,
interacting with them in terms of their official roles.
5. Bureaucracy that includes a specialized administrative staff of managers, secretaries, record
keepers an others.
 Their sole function is to keep the organization as a whole running smoothly
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6. Employees usually anticipating a career with the organization
 Candidates for position in the hierarchy are appointed in the basis of seniority or
merit, or some combination of the two- not on the grounds of favoritism, family
connections, or other criteria that are irrelevant to the organizational efficiency.
THE PHILIPPINE BURUEAUCRATIC BEHAVIOR
1. The culture of patronage
 The Philippine bureaucracy rests on the foundation of the merit principle as operationalized by
the establishment of the merit system both in the civilian and military services.
 In practice, however patronage is necessary ingredient in terms of hiring employees in the
government, aside from passing the requirements there should be backed up political or
bureaucratic padrino.
2. The culture of bureaucratic mediocrity
 It revolves around the principle and system of merit and competence required by law by civil
personnel
 To strengthen the merit system, the government put into effect the Republic Act No.6850,
which provides for government employees under temporary appointment status but with at
least 7 years of efficient service to be given not only the Civil Service Illegibility's required but
permanent appointments as well.
3. The culture of bureaucratic ambiguity
 It rooted in the multiplicity of conflicting laws, executive orders, judicial decisions,
civil service and labor regulations, opinions and agency rules which render the
organizational environment to be a legal jungle where policies and rules to guide
action and behavior of personnel are unclear and constantly changing.
4. The culture of dualism
 Is carry over from societal culture. These are replicas of the double standards in
society covering all aspects of life- social, political, economic, and even religious.
5. The culture of graft and corruption
 Graft and corruption in the Philippines reached its peak during the martial law
regime under Ferdinand E. Marcos.

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