Educational Relevance

PRIMARY & SECONDARY GROUPS C.H. Cooley classified groups on the basis of kind of contact into primary and secondary groups. In primary group, there is face-to-face, close and intimate relationship among the members such as in the family. In a secondary group the relationship among the members are indirect, impersonal and superficial such a political party, a city and trade union etc. * Tertiary Group: Combination of Primary & Secondary Groups.

Deference between primary and secondary groups FEATURESPRIMARY GROUPSECONDARY GROUP SizeSmallLarge Duration of Interaction Persists overtimeShort-Lived Nature of ProximityHigh; face to faceLow Nature of InterestsDiffusedSpecific Nature of Relationship CloseImpersonal Found more inRural SocietyUrban Society

EDUCATIONAL RELEVANCE PRIMARY, SECONDARY & TERTIARY GROUPS PRIMARY GROUP  Interpersonal relationship is more important for happy and healthy life.  Human Values (friendship and family belongingness)  Unity and shared values SECONDARY GROUP  Exchange commodities  Team spirit in games and sports  University classes formation  Work to fulfill needs TERTIARY GROUP  Need more strength to reach hard/difficult goal  Hard work for successful life

Formal and Informal groups FORMAL GROUPS- established by the organization to perform organizational work.  Types: 1. Command Group-Specified by the organization chart and comprised of employees who report directly to a supervisor. Ex. EC, AC, NEHUTA, NEHUSU  2. Task Group- Comprised of employees who work together to compete a particular task/project; Ex. Self Managed Teams (SMTs)

Informal Groups- natural groupings of employees that form to fulfil social needs, evolving naturally. Types- 1. Interest Group- established to meet a mutual objective ( a group formed to lobby management for more fringe benefits). 2. Friendship Group- formed because members have something in common.

Difference between formal and informal groups Formal GroupsInformal Groups Formal Groups are designated by an organization as a means to an end. Informal groups are important for their own sake. For total organization.For limited members in the group. Formal Groups are created for achieving the legitimate objectives of the organisation. Informal Groups are created by organisational members for their social and psychological satisfaction. Big in sizeSmall in size Easy to abolishDifficult to abolish

EDUCATIONAL RELEVANCE FROMAL GROUP  Organizational skills  Command technique  In-depth analysis INFORMAL GROUP  Happy time spending  Sharing ideas  Selfishness is not good

In-groups and out-groups William Graham Sumner, an American Sociologist in his book “Folkways” made distinction between in-group and out-group from the individual point of view and it is based on preferential bonds (ethnocentrism) among the members of the groups. The groups with which the individual identifies himself are his in- groups such as his family, tribe, college, occupation etc. All other groups to which he does not belong are his out-groups.

In-group An in-group is a group to which we belong and to which we feel loyalty. In-groupness produces among the members the sense of belonging together which is the core of the group life. In-group attitudes contain some element of sympathy and a sense of attachment to the other members of the group. They possess a sense of solidarity, a feeling of brotherhood and readiness to sacrifice themselves for the sake of the group. W.G. Sumner also said that ethnocentrism is a characteristic of the in- group. Ethnocentrism is that view of things in which one’s own group is the centre of everything and others are scaled and rated with reference to it.

Out-group An out-group is a group to which we do not belong and to which we feel no loyalty. Toward the members of out-group we feel a sense of indifference, avoidance, disgust, hostility, competition or outright conflict. The relationship of an individual to his out-group is marked by a sense of remoteness or detachment and sometimes even of hostility. Group member uses the word ‘they’ or ‘other’ with reference to his out-group.

EDUCATIONAL RELEVANCE INGROUP  We feeling and belongingness  Self-esteem OUTGROUP  They feeling is not always good  Don’t hesitate all.

TYPES OF GROUPS Dwight Sanderson has classified groups into three types on the bases of structure such as involuntary, voluntary and delegate groups P.A. Sorokin, an American sociologist, has divided groups into two major types – the vertical and the horizontal. F.H. Giddings classifies groups into genetic and congregate. George Hasen has classified groups into four types on the basis of their relations to other groups. They are unsocial, pseudo-social, antisocial and pro-social groups.

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