THINK Sociology Copyright ©2011 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. THINK Sociology, Second Edition John D. Carl CHAPTER Second Edition Groups and Societies: Understanding Our Environment 6 This multimedia product and its contents are protected under copyright law. The following are prohibited by law: any public performance or display, including transmission of any image over a network; preparation of any derivative work, including the extraction, in whole or in part, of any images; any rental, lease, or lending of the program

Copyright ©2011 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. THINK Sociology, Second Edition John D. Carl In Extraordinary Groups: An Examination of Unconventional Lifestyles, Richard Schaefer and William Zellner chronicle the rise and fall of social groups, including the Oneida group—a utopian society led by John Humphrey Noyes.

Copyright ©2011 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. THINK Sociology, Second Edition John D. Carl Characteristics of Social Groups Social Groups are groups that consist of two or more people who interact with one another and share a common identity –Everyone belongs to social groups both voluntary groups and groups one does not choose such as ones family

Copyright ©2011 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. THINK Sociology, Second Edition John D. Carl Primary and Secondary Groups Primary groups are small, intimate and long lasting –Examples are ones family and close friends Secondary groups are formal, superficial, and last for a short or fixed time –Examples are civic groups

Copyright ©2011 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. THINK Sociology, Second Edition John D. Carl PRIMARY AND SECONDARY GROUPS

Copyright ©2011 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. THINK Sociology, Second Edition John D. Carl Bounded Relationships Bounded relationships are relationship that exist only under specific conditions –Bounded relationships exist in secondary groups often that are of relatively short duration

Copyright ©2011 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. THINK Sociology, Second Edition John D. Carl In-Groups and Out Groups In-group is a group to which we feel an affinity or closeness –In-group bias is the feeling that a person’s in- group is superior to others Out-group is a group from which we are disconnected –We often hold negative biases toward out- groups

Copyright ©2011 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. THINK Sociology, Second Edition John D. Carl Reference Groups Reference groups is the group that you use to evaluate yourself –We use reference groups to compare ourselves to another person or group

Copyright ©2011 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. THINK Sociology, Second Edition John D. Carl Group Size, Structure, and Interaction Groups come in many sizes –Dyad is a group consisting of only two persons  Usually a very close relationship –Triad is a group consisting of three persons  According to George Simmel, this is the weakest group size

Copyright ©2011 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. THINK Sociology, Second Edition John D. Carl Leadership Styles Leadership style is a behavior mode that leaders use to influence group members –There are three distinctive leadership styles 1.Autocratic leader is a leader who determines the group policies and assigns roles

Copyright ©2011 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. THINK Sociology, Second Edition John D. Carl Leadership Styles Two other leadership styles 2. Democratic Leader is a leader who strives to set group policy by discussion and agreement 3. Laissez-faire Leader is a leader who leads by absence and may in fact not want to be a leader at all

Copyright ©2011 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. THINK Sociology, Second Edition John D. Carl Important Points of Leadership Styles Important Points to remember about leadership styles are the following: 1.There is no “right” type of leadership style 2.Successful leaders adapt the style to the situation 3.The process of leadership impacts both the group members and the leader

Copyright ©2011 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. THINK Sociology, Second Edition John D. Carl Important Points of Leadership Styles Important Points to remember about leadership styles are the following: 4.Leadership styles are learnable 5.Different styles can be effective in certain situation and/or with certain groups of people

Copyright ©2011 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. THINK Sociology, Second Edition John D. Carl Conformity Conformity is the degree to which we will alter our behavior, attitudes, and points of view to fit into our perceived expectation of what is appropriate –When people are in a group they often want to conform to the majority rather than opposing members of the group

Copyright ©2011 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. THINK Sociology, Second Edition John D. Carl ASCH’S CARDS

Copyright ©2011 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. THINK Sociology, Second Edition John D. Carl Groupthink Groupthink is the term for group decisions that are made without objective thought –People conform to what they believe is the consensus of the rest of the group. Groupthink is more likely if the following conditions exist  Group cohesiveness  External threat  Strong leadership

Copyright ©2011 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. THINK Sociology, Second Edition John D. Carl A History of Group Think Shortcomings of groupthink 1.Illusion of invulnerability 2.Collective rationalization 3.Belief in inherent morality 4.Stereotyped views of out-groups 5.Direct pressure on dissenters 6.Self-censorship 7.Illusion of unanimity 8.Self-appointed mind guards

Copyright ©2011 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. THINK Sociology, Second Edition John D. Carl Social Capital and Social Networks Social capital is a sociological concept that refers to the individual and collective resources available to a person Social network is the web of ties you have with others

Copyright ©2011 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. THINK Sociology, Second Edition John D. Carl Social Capital

Copyright ©2011 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. THINK Sociology, Second Edition John D. Carl Social Capital and Social Networks Immigrants and other groups use social networks to succeed even when they lack very much personal capital. Immigrants use different form of networking 1.Traditional networks – family and close friends 2.Church networks – church family 3.Contract networks – economic networks

Copyright ©2011 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. THINK Sociology, Second Edition John D. Carl Formal Organizations Formal organizations are groups created for a certain purpose and built for maximum efficiency –Formal institutions are country clubs, environmental organizations, sports leagues

Copyright ©2011 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. THINK Sociology, Second Edition John D. Carl Voluntary Associations Voluntary Association is the act of joining an organization that offers no pay and that expands social networks through interaction –These include joining a team, singing in a choir or helping in a soup kitchen –There are some indications that voluntary organizations are decreasing

Copyright ©2011 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. THINK Sociology, Second Edition John D. Carl Organizations and Bureaucracies Organizations are formal groups that exist to achieve a desired goal –Utilitarian organizations are an organization in which people receive wages in exchange for work –Normative organizations are organizations that exist to achieve a worthwhile goal –Coercive organizations are organizations that people are forced to join

Copyright ©2011 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. THINK Sociology, Second Edition John D. Carl Organizations and Bureaucracies Qualities that keep formal organizations running smoothly –Division of labor – tasks are clearly defined –Concentration of power – power is in the hand of a few –Methods of succession – replacement of members

Copyright ©2011 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. THINK Sociology, Second Edition John D. Carl Organizations and Bureaucracies Formal structures are the explicit rules, goals, and guidelines of as organization Informal structures are friendships, allegiances, and loyalties among members of an organization

Copyright ©2011 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. THINK Sociology, Second Edition John D. Carl Characteristics of Bureaucracies Bureaucracies are formal organizations that are organized into a hierarchy of smaller departments –Max Weber was one of the first sociologists to discuss the idea of bureaucracy

Copyright ©2011 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. THINK Sociology, Second Edition John D. Carl Weber’s Characteristics of Bureaucracy

Copyright ©2011 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. THINK Sociology, Second Edition John D. Carl Weber and the Iron Cage For Weber bureaucratization was a logical extension of formal rational thought –Formal rationality refers to the reasonable actions organizations and bureaucracies take to achieve goals –Weber believed that any organization that grows large enough will inevitably strive toward formal rationality and bureaucracy

Copyright ©2011 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. THINK Sociology, Second Edition John D. Carl Weber and the Iron Cage Iron Cage is a concept introduced by Max Weber that refers to the way in which bureaucracies make workers feel trapped and turn them into little more than robots accomplishing tasks –All bureaucratic organizations run the risk of putting their employees into the iron cage, as workers options are limited by their position in the organization.

Copyright ©2011 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. THINK Sociology, Second Edition John D. Carl Functionalism and Leadership What makes someone a good leader? John Maxwell provides a model of leadership of five levels 1.Positional leaders – other people give positional leaders the reins of leadership 2.Permission leaders – people follow because they want to

Copyright ©2011 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. THINK Sociology, Second Edition John D. Carl Functionalism and Leadership Three other leadership levels 3. Production leaders – people follow because of what you have done 4. People development – people follow because they are empowered 5. Personhood – people follow because of who you are

Copyright ©2011 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. THINK Sociology, Second Edition John D. Carl Conflict Theory – Marx and Bureaucracy Karl Marx believed that ‘bureaucracy was a circle from which one could not escape’ –He believed bureaucracy was the way the bourgeoisie exploited workers and more efficiently gained more wealth and control for themselves

Copyright ©2011 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. THINK Sociology, Second Edition John D. Carl Symbolic Interactionism – the Democratic Workplace Symbolic interactionists wonder how workers’ attitudes toward their jobs impact creativity and job satisfaction –Rothschild suggests that traditional bureaucracies create ineffective work environments because workers are disconnected –In contrast team approaches in management encourage democracy in the workplace

Copyright ©2011 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. THINK Sociology, Second Edition John D. Carl Adult Civic Engagement and Childhood Activities McFarland and Thomas suggest that your involvement as a child impacts your willingness to engage in political action in the future –These findings have direct implications on political policies and civic engagement