Understanding Culture, Society, and Politics

Lesson 6
Organization in Society
 Human Society is a group of people involved in persistent social interaction, or a large social
grouping having the same geographical or social territory, typically subject to the same political
authority and dominant cultural expectations.
 Human Societies are characterized by patterns of relationships (social relations) between
individuals who share a distinct culture and institutions.

Human Society is divided into groups, each group has a specific function, catering to the needs of a human
individual.
 Groups are any unit of people who interact with some regularity, and who identify themselves as
one unit.
 collection of people interacting together in an orderly way based on shared expectations
about another’s behavior, because of interaction, members develop a sense of
“belongingness”.
 Groups can be categorized based on number, common interest, purpose, and level of interactions.

Different kinds of Groups

According to Influence
 Primary groups- those which are small but intimate, have direct access and interaction with each
other, and emotional bonds.
Examples: Close friends and family
 Secondary groups- formed to perform a specific purpose, members interact for the accomplishment
of purpose, usually formal and impersonal, Secondary groups can possibly form primary groups.
Examples: Becoming friends with one’s seatmate in a math class
According to Membership
 In-groups- those groups to which one belongs and those which elicit a sense of loyalty from the
individual.
Example: Being part of the women’s basketball team allows one to bond with teammates and join pep
rallies to support the team.
 Out-groups- those groups in which one does not belong and those which elicit a sense of
antagonism from the individual.
Example: Being part of the women’s basketball team gives one a sense of antagonism toward the men’s
basketball teams.
According to Reference Groups
 Reference groups- are those that provide an individual with a set of standards to check against and
to know if one is doing well or where he or she needs improvement.
Example: A neophyte scientist considers his superiors as reference groups.
According to Networks
 The entirety of social connections an individual takes part in for whatever purpose and through
whatever means.
Example: the politician’s link with civil society organizations and NGOs is a good example of a network.

Role of Social Groups and Social Institutions

 Members must have roles in a group. Individual or personal roles are different from social roles.
When an individual belongs to a group, that individual must perform his social role- not his
personal role. He must perform his assigned role according to the group’s norms.
Performance Roles depend on the cohesiveness of the members. The cohesiveness of members in a
group is measured in four (4) ways:

 Number of Friends/Members- The degree of cooperation and participation of the group on various
activities depends on the number of relatives and friends in the group. The more relatives and
friends in a group, the greater is the cohesiveness.
  Morale of the members- When members have high morale in the group, they have confidence with
one another and the greater would be the cohesiveness of the members in the group.
 Sense of Belongingness- loyalty to the group emerges when there is a sense of belongingness among
the individuals in a group. The members even go to the extent of protecting and defending the
existence of the group.
 Commitment of the Members- when the members are committed to the group’s goals, norms, and
activities, the members are able to work cooperatively as a team. Thus, the greater the commitment
to the group, the greater the cohesiveness among the members.
Institutions and Social Networks
 Institutions provide a framework of continuity and predictability that allows people to plan their
activities more accurately. Institutions help us interact with each other by imposing a sense of
stability and order onto the initially chaotic jumble of life.
 A Social Network is an element of social interaction in which a web of relationships exists among
people, directly or indirectly.
For example, a student may have several networks such as his classmates, peer groups, or barkada,
with his teachers, members of the faculty, in the gym with athletes, in the church where he performs his
religious duties, and others. However, the first social network is the family and other relatives.

Significant Functions of Social Network

 They help individuals develop opinions, choices, and points of view.
 They serve as primary sources of information on any activity and concerns of the individual.
 They may influence the personality of the people.
 They provide opportunities and control to one’s behavior. In some instances, they serve as
opportunities for growth and success.
 They provide individuals with an important source of companionship.
 They provide an important opportunity for economic transactions such as the sharing of tangible
and intangible resources, gift-giving, etc.
 They also provide rules for distributing society’s resources. Whenever resource control is allocated
equally, the distribution rule becomes the basis of social stratification. The very common
distribution principle is the rule of reciprocity, which means that the giving of gifts obligates the
recipient to return something of similar value.

Prepared by:

April Grace S. Santillan

Subject Teacher