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UNDERSTANDING CULTURE, SOCIETY & POLITICS

Information sheet 4
Chapter 4: How Society is Organized

MELCs:
1. Analyze the forms and functions of social organizations.
Learning Objectives:

1. Describe the organized nature of social life and rules governing behavior.
2. Compare different social forms of social organization according to their manifest and
latent functions.
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Introduction
Groups are a key building block of social life but can
also have negative consequences. Primary groups are
generally small and include intimate relationships, while
secondary groups are larger and more impersonal.
Reference groups provide a standard for guiding and
evaluating our attitudes and behaviors.
Groups within a Society
Photo courtesy: eClass4learning
A group is a unit of people who interact with some
regularity and identify themselves as a unit. A group is
a collection of people interacting together in an orderly way on the basis of shared expectations.
A group can be categorized based on number, common interest, purpose and level of
interaction.
Primary & Secondary Groups (according to influence)

1. Primary Group
 A primary group is typically a small social group whose members share close,
personal, enduring relationships.
 Primary groups are marked by concern for one another, shared activities and
culture, and long periods of time spent together.
 Photo courtesy: webstockreview  They are psychologically
comforting and quite influential
in developing personal
identity. The goal of primary
groups is actually the
relationships themselves
rather than achieving some
other purpose.
 A primary group is a group in
which one exchanges implicit
items, such as love, caring,
concern, support, etc.
 The concept of the primary group
was introduced by Charles Cooley in his book, Social Organization: A Study of
the Larger Mind.
 Examples of these would be family groups, love relationships, crisis support
groups, and church groups.
2. Secondary Group

 Secondary groups are large

groups whose relationships
are impersonal and goal-
oriented; their relationships
are temporary.
 Secondary relationships
involve weak emotional ties
and little personal knowledge
of one another In contrast to
primary groups, secondary
groups don't have the goal of
maintaining and developing
the relationships themselves.
 The distinction between primary and secondary groups was originally proposed
by Charles Cooley. He termed them "secondary" because they generally develop
later in life and are much less likely to be influential on one's identity than primary
groups.
 Since secondary groups are established to perform functions, people's roles are
more interchangeable.
 A secondary group is one you have chosen to be a part of. They are based on
interests and activities. They are where many people can meet close friends or
people they would just call acquaintances. Secondary groups are also groups in
which one exchanges explicit commodities, such as labor for wages, services for
payments, etc.
 Examples of these would be employment, vendor-to-client relationships, a
doctor, a mechanic, an accountant, and such. A university class, an athletic
team, and workers in an office all likely form secondary groups.
  Primary groups can form within secondary groups as relationships become more
personal and close.

In-group & Out-group (according to membership)

 In-groups are social groups to which an individual feels he or she belongs, while
an individual doesn't identify with the out-group.
 In sociology and social psychology, in-groups and out-groups are social groups
to which an individual feel as though he or she belongs as a member, or towards
which they feel contempt, opposition, or a desire to compete, respectively.
 People tend to hold positive attitudes towards members of their own groups, a
phenomenon known as in-group bias. The term originates from social identity
theory which grew out of the work of social psychologists Henri Tajfel and John
Turner.
 In-group favoritism refers to a preference and affinity for one's in-group over the
out-group or anyone viewed as outside the in-group.
 A key notion in understanding in-group/out-group biases is determining the
psychological mechanism that drives the bias. One of the key determinants of
group biases is the need to improve self-esteem. That is individuals will find a
reason, no matter how insignificant, to prove to themselves why their group is
superior.
 Intergroup aggression is any behavior intended to harm another person
because he or she is a member of an out group. Intergroup aggression is a by-
product of in-group bias, in that if the beliefs of the in-group are challenged or if
the in-group feels threatened, then they will express aggression toward the out-
group. The major motive for intergroup aggression is the perception of a conflict
of interest between in-group and out-group.
 Prejudice is a hostile or negative attitude toward people in a distinct group,
based solely on their membership within that group. There are three
components:
1. The first is the affective component, representing both the type of emotion
linked with the attitude and the severity of the attitude.
2. The second is a cognitive component, involving beliefs and thoughts that
make up the attitude.
3. The third is a behavioral component, relating to one's actions — people
do not just hold attitudes, they act on them as well.
 Prejudice primarily refers to a negative attitude about others, although one can
also have a positive prejudice in favor of something.
 A stereotype is a generalization about a group of people in which identical
characteristics are assigned to virtually all members of the group, regardless of
actual variation among the members.
Reference Groups

 Sociologists call any group that individuals use as a standard for evaluating
themselves and their own behavior as a reference group.
 Social comparison theory is centered on the belief that there is a drive within
individuals to gain accurate self-evaluations, Individuals evaluate their own
 opinions and define the self by comparing themselves to others. One important
concept in this theory is the reference group.
 A reference group refers to a group to which an individual or another group is
compared. Sociologists call any group that individuals use as a standard for
evaluating themselves and their own behavior a reference group.
 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 himself or herself
psychologically.
 Reference groups become 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. These
groups become the basis of reference in making comparisons or contrasts and in
evaluating one's appearance and performance.
 Examples:
1. Suppose you were a college freshman moving into your dorm. You notice
that there are very few cars in the parking lot, but there are several bikes.
You look into the open door rooms and notice that a majority of the
students in your dorm have a recycling bin in their rooms and green fliers.
You ask your new roommate about the fliers and he tells you that the
college is a green campus. Before your parents leave, you ask them to
take you to the store to buy a bicycle, a helmet/ a recycling bin, and other
eco-friendly items. In this example, you used the college students in your
dorm room as a reference group.
2. Suppose that Susie is a 13-year-o/d female who transfers to a new
school. Susie may pay attention to what her schoolmates wear, how they
speak, where they hang out, and how they behave, Susie then takes this
information and uses it in order to modify her speech, determine what she
wears to school; how she does her hair, which shows to watch on
television, etc.
3. A woman pregnant with her first child may use women with children as a
reference group.
Social Networks
A social network is a social structure between actors, either individuals or organizations. It
indicates the ways in which they are connected through various social familiarities, ranging from
casual acquaintance to close familial bonds. The study of social networks is called both "social
network analysis" and "social network theory". Research in a number of academic fields
has demonstrated that social networks operate on many levels, from families up to the level of
nations, and play a critical role in determining the way problems are solved, organizations are
run, and the degree to which individuals succeed in achieving their goals. Sociologists are
interested in social networks because of their influence on and importance for the individual.
Social networks are the basic tools used by individuals to meet other people, recreate, and to
find social support. Social network theory views social relationships in terms of nodes and ties.
Nodes are the individual actors within the networks, and ties are the relationships between the
actors. There can be many kinds of ties between the nodes. In its most simple form, a social
network is a map of all of the relevant ties between the nodes being studied. The network can
also be used to determine the social capital of individual actors. In sociology, social capital is
the expected collective or economic benefits derived from the preferential treatment and
cooperation between individuals and groups.

Self-check #4
Name: ___________________________ Grade and Section: __________________
Teacher: _________________________ Score: ____________________

A. Essay.
Direction: Think of a group you belong or a group you use as a standard for
evaluating yourself. Describe your feeling towards each of the group and how
your membership affects your behavior.

1. Primary Group: (e.g. family, love relationship (uyab), very close friend)
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2. Secondary Group: (e.g. athletic team, choir, dota team, ml team)
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3. Reference Group: (see the examples given on the previous page)
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 ___________________________________________________________________
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References Signature of Parent/Guardian over printed name

Books
Santarita J. and Madrid R. Understanding Culture, Society, and Politics (SHS). 1253 G. Araneta
Avenue Quezon City, Philippines. Vibal Group Publishing, Inc.

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socialization/
(n.d.). Your CHR. https://chr.gov.ph/
History of the document. (2019, September 30). Welcome to the United
Nations. https://www.un.org/en/sections/universal-declaration/history
document/index.html
CK12-Foundation. (n.d.). CK-12
Foundation. https://flexbooks.ck12.org/user:coachtgj/cbook/episd
sociology/section/4.4/primary/lesson/groups-within-society
Socialization. (n.d.). ScienceDirect.com | Science, health and medical journals, full text articles
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