1. Unit II Sociology Notes
Unit 2: Groups & Culture
Unit II Sociology Notes

2. Social Structure
Social group: 2 or more people who identify & interact with each other (couple, family, friends, churches, clubs, businesses, neighborhood, teams)
Social institution: major sphere of social life designed to meet human needs (economy, family, politics, religion)
Status: social position a person occupies
Role: behavior expected of someone who holds a particular status (student, teacher)

3. Types of societies
Hunting & gathering: use simple tools to hunt animals & gather vegetation (Bushmen, Aborigines, Pygmies)
Horticultural & pastoral: use of hand tools to raise crops (Tuareg of N. Africa)
Agrarian: large scale cultivation using plows harnessed to animals/energy sources (Amish)
Industrial: production of goods using advanced sources of energy for large machinery
Postindustrial: technology supporting an information based economy

7. Groups in Society
Primary: small social group whose members share personal & enduring relationships; spend a lot of time together, do a lot of things together, feel they know each other well
Secondary: large & impersonal social group whose members pursue a specific goal or activity; weak emotional ties, little personal knowledge of each other (people in a class with you, some people you work with)

8. In groups: social group commanding a member’s esteem & loyalty
Out groups: social group toward which one feels competition or opposition
Examples: race vs race, jocks vs nerds, etc.
Reference groups: social group that serves as a point of reference when making evaluations and decisions (family, co-workers, peers)
Social networks: social structure made up of people/ organizations & the ties between them

9. Group Leadership: 3 styles
Authoritarian: takes charge, makes decisions, expects strict compliance (good in crisis)
Democratic: include everyone, more creative; not as effective in a crisis
Laissez-faire (“to leave alone”): allows group to function on its own—least effective methods of leadership

10. Group Conformity
Solomon Asch’s research: groups of students who looked at lines, chose which was longest. Chose wrong on purpose—others chose wrong answer, too!
Stanley Milgram’s research: shocking another person until the level reached fatal amounts
Janis’ “Groupthink”: tendency of group members to conform, resulting in a narrow view of an issue (Bay of Pigs, 1961)

13. Group Size
More than 6 people leads to groups breaking up into smaller groups
7 people result in 21 conversational “channels”
Dyad: social group with 2 members; most intense, but unstable– requires more work
Triad: social group with 3 members: more stable—have mediator, but can unbalance

14. Social Diversity Race, Class, Gender: play a part in group dynamics
Large groups turn inward—associate less with outsiders
Heterogeneous groups turn outward: more diverse, more interaction with outsiders
Social equality promotes contact: same social standing leads to more interaction
Physical boundaries create social boundaries: own building leads to less interaction with others

15. Formal Organizations: Types
Utilitarian: paid for your efforts (job)
Normative: join to pursue a goal (Red Cross)
Coercive: involuntary membership—forced to join as punishment (prisons)

16. Bureaucracies
Organizational model rationally designed to perform tasks efficiently
Strengths: specialization, hierarchy of personnel (pyramid), rules/regulations, technical competence, impersonality (all treated the same), formal written communications
Examples: internet, phone system, gov’t.

17. Problems with bureaucracies
Dehumanize workers: alienate them—may not meet your personal needs as you’re all treated the same (the cubicle)
Inefficiency: failure to carry out a job (delays, “red tape”)
Ritualism: preoccupation with rules & regulations to the point that you thwart the organizations goals (US Post Office)
Inertia: tendency to perpetuate themselves—to protect their jobs
Oligarchy: use of available information by a few to benefit themselves at the cost of others