Introduction to Sociology

Module 5

Social Groups
Meaning–Importance- Types: Primary group and Secondary group-In-
group and Out-group-Reference group
 Introduction to Social Groups
• According to Dictionary.com, group is a number of persons or things ranged or
considered together as being related in some way

• Two or more than two people coming together with the aim of fulfilling some goal is
referred to as a social group

• Aristotle said “Man is a social animal”

• C. N. Shankar Rao, “Total ostracism from one’s group is probably the cruelest
punishment- short of only death-that men are ever called upon to endure”

• Term ‘social group’ lacks precision

• A ‘dyad’ can also be a group and so is entire human community

 Some Definitions
• “Social group is a group of two or more persons who are in a state of interaction with one
another” M Nimkoff

• MacIver and Page define social groups as “any collection of human beings who are
brought into human relationships with one another”

• “Whenever two or more individuals come together and influence one another, they may be
said to constitute a social group” –Ogburn and Nimkoff

• Harry M Johnson says that ‘A social group is a system of social interaction’

• It is important to understand that a social group is different from a social category

• For example: Washermen is a social category, student is a social category

 Characteristics
• Collection of individuals

• Interaction among members

• Mutual awareness

• We feeling

• Group unity and solidarity

• Common interest

• Similar behaviour

• Group norms

• Size of the group

• Groups are dynamic

• Stability

• Influence on personality
 Human beings become human/social beings only among human beings

• Case of Wolf children: Lacked ‘sense of human selfhood’

• The case of Anna

 Factors of Group Life
• Psychological factors

• Biological factors

• Kinship Bond

• Geographical factors

• Cultural factors

• Economic factors

• Religious factors

• Political factors
 Importance of Social Groups
• Problematic survival without groups

• Enhancement in Individual's capacity

• Fulfilment of Basic Needs

• Personality Development

• Transmission of Culture

• Social Control

• Possibility of Achievement of Collective Aims

 Classification of Social Groups
• In-groups and Out groups: W.G. Sumner in his book “Folkways” talks about ‘in-groups’ and ‘out-
groups’. In-group is ‘we group’ and Out group is ‘they group’

• Involuntary and Voluntary groups, Institutional and non-institutional groups; and temporary and
permanent groups: Charles A. Ellwood in his work ‘Psychology of Human Society’ mentioned these
three categories.

• Horizontal groups and Vertical groups: Pitirim Sorokin devised this category of social groups.

• Territorial and Non-territorial group: Park and Burgess have distinguished between these two categories.

• Crowds, groups and collectivies: Leopold Von Wiese and Howard Becker gave this classification of
social groups

• Primary groups and Secondary groups: C.H. Cooley talked about primary group and secondary group is
a residual category
• Social groups, social category and statistical aggregate: characterized by established pattern,
sharing of common status and people sharing common interests respectively

• Genetic groups and Congregate group: F. Q. Giddings introduced this category

• Gemeinschaft (Community) and Gesellschaft (Association): Given by Ferdinand Tonnies

• Small groups and large groups: George Simmel talked about groups as small as dyad and triad; as
large as a racial group, political group etc.
 In-groups and Out-groups
• This category is based on psychological factors instead of social factors. We-group and They-
group

• Two aspects of classification: (a) Mental preparedness

(b) To identify boundaries between in-group and out group

• Overlapping Relationships between In-group and Out-group: comparison of a tribal society with
modern society

• In-group and Out-group; and social distance:

• Relative influence of In-group and Out-group:

• In-group and Out-group affect behaviour:

 Primary Groups and Secondary Groups
• C. H. Cooley talked about primary group in his book ‘Social Organisation’

• Other sociologists like Ogburn, MacIver, Kingsley Davis etc. popularised the concept of
‘secondary group’

• Depends upon the degree of interaction

• Primary group also known as ‘face to face group’ and ‘secondary group’ are the ‘derivative
groups’

• Sympathetic contact and Categorical contact

 Reference Group

• A reference group is a collection of people that we use as a standard of comparison for ourselves
regardless of whether we are part of that group

• We rely on reference groups to understand social norms, which then shape our values, ideas,
behavior, and appearance. This means that we also use them to evaluate the relative worth,
desirability, or appropriateness of these things

• Mustafa Sherif (1953) defined reference groups as “those groups to which the individual relates
himself as a part or to which he aspires to relate himself psychologically”

• It is not uncommon to orient ourselves to more than one reference group at a time. We shift
reference groups as we take on different statuses during our lives. A reference group may be an
actual group, a collectivity or an aggregate, a person or personifi­cation of an abstraction
 Types of Reference Groups
• Positive Reference Group

• Negative Reference Group

Functions of Reference Group

1. The significant thing about a reference group is, in fact, that its norms provide frames of reference

which actually influence the attitude and behaviour of a person.”

2. They also perform a comparison function by serving as a standard against which people can measure

themselves and others.

3. They serve not only as sources of current evaluation but also as sources of aspiration and goal

attainment (as a means of antici­patory socialisation). A person who chooses to become a professor or a

lawyer begins to identify with that group and becomes socialised to have certain goals and expectations
 References
• https://www.yourarticlelibrary.com/sociology/reference-groups-meaning-type
s-and-importance-of-reference-groups/35073