UNIT 5: Groups and Formal Organizations Introduction

OUTLINE: Social Groups Group Characteristics Formal Organizations Groups, Aggregates, and Categories Types of Groups Group Characteristics Group size Group Conformity Formal Organizations Bureaucracies McDonaldization

TERMS: Social Group: a collection of two or more people who interact frequently with one another, share a sense of belonging, and have a feeling of interdependence (a family, a sacred group of believers, an ethnic group who met together)

Groups have varying degrees of social solidarity and structure. This degree of solidarity varies from group to group. Some groups are large and impersonal and other groups are small and personal. We identify with certain groups more than we do others.

Aggregate: a collection of people who happen to be in the same place at the same time but have little in common. ( Those who go to a movie, the Calgary Stampede, a sports event)

Category: a number of people who may never have met one another but share a similar characteristic (men and women, athletes, those of the same social class)

Types of Groups Primary and Secondary Groups Ingroups and Outgroups Reference Groups Networks

Primary vs. Secondary Groups

Ingroups vs. Outgroups

Reference Groups

Networks